Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Bali, Indonesia, for a three-day visit to attend the G20 Summit, where he is expected to present India’s perspective on addressing key global challenges such as health, post-pandemic economic recovery, and energy and food security.
The annual summit will take place on November 15 and 16 against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Several world leaders have already arrived in Bali for the summit.
The summit is significant for New Delhi because it will see Indonesia hand over the G-20 presidency to India at the summit’s closing ceremony.
Modi is travelling to Indonesia to attend the summit, which will also include Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a press conference that Modi will have separate bilateral meetings with a number of leaders on the sidelines of the summit, but he did not directly respond to questions about whether he will meet with Xi.
“These bilateral engagements with the other leaders are still in the process of being scheduled. This is something which remains under evolution,” Kwatra stated.
The two leaders met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) annual summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand in September, but there was no bilateral meeting.
Kwatra stated that Modi will participate in three key sessions at the G20 summit, including food and energy security, digital transformation, and health, and that he and other leaders will deliberate extensively on key issues of contemporary relevance, such as the state of the global economy, energy, environment, agriculture, health, and digital transformation.
“The Bali summit comprises three working sessions at the leader’s level where the prime minister will be participating. These include the sessions on food and energy security, a session on digital transformation, and a session on health,” Kwatra stated.
He stated that the G20 discussions have taken on greater significance because they are taking place against the backdrop of global challenges such as uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, debt vulnerabilities, particularly in developing countries, the ongoing conflict in Europe and its knock-on effects such as food security challenges, an energy crisis, and inflation in all countries around the world.
“The G20 leaders will discuss these challenges and underscore the importance of closer multilateral cooperation to help overcome these challenges,” he said.
The foreign secretary stated that the summit is especially important for India because it will assume the Presidency of the grouping on December 1 for a one-year period, and the handover will take place during the summit in Bali.
“India as the next chair would endeavour to provide a greater voice to issues of interest to the global South and steer the G20 agenda in a representative and balanced manner,” Kwatra said.
When asked about Modi’s bilateral meetings, he stated that these engagements with other leaders are still being planned.
“This is something which remains under evolution.”
The foreign secretary stated that India’s position has been one of steadfast and strong support for Indonesia, which has shown strong leadership in ensuring that the G20 platform discusses issues of substantive interest to the world as the Presidency.
“The prime minister would receive the G20 Presidency from the President of Indonesia at the closing session of the Bali Summit, and as you all know, India will host the next G20 summit in September 2023,” he said.
According to Kwatra, Modi will also use his presence at the Bali summit to invite leaders to India’s G20 summit.
The G20 summit agenda also includes a visit by leaders to Taman Hutan Raya, a mangrove forest in Bali known as Bahasa Indonesia.
According to Kwatra, Modi will brief G20 leaders on India’s evolving G20 priorities as well as review key elements of bilateral engagement during his bilateral interactions.
“India’s G20 Presidency hopes to provide new strength, direction and perspective to G20 discussions on diverse subjects which include green development, lifestyle for environment, digital transformation, inclusive and resilient growth, women-led development and more importantly, a greater voice for the global south in issues of international economic cooperation as also on the need for reformed 21st-century institutions,” he said.
During India’s G20 presidency, the Troika would be Indonesia and Brazil.
“This would be the first time in G20 that the Troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies in a row,” said the foreign secretary.
On November 15, Modi will address and interact with the Indian community and friends of India at a community reception in Bali.
The Indian community and diaspora are well-represented throughout Indonesia. Modi will leave Bali after the Bali Summit concludes on November 16.
Kwatra stated that governance delivery through digital platforms and digital instruments will be discussed at the G20 summit, emphasising India’s competencies in these areas.
When asked what Modi’s message would be at the summit, Kwatra did not give a direct answer, instead listing ongoing uncertainty and challenges in areas such as climate, health, and energy security, among others.
“The challenges relating to food security, the pandemic, have clearly shown us the problem of the global health security that all of us encounter,” he said, adding that discussions would take place around them.
“And at this stage, I can’t tell you for sure what the prime minister’s interventions would be, but I’m assuming that it would be an intersection set of many of these elements and specific subsections of these elements,” Kwatra said.
Which countries are G20 members?
The G20, also known as the Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum comprising the world’s major developed and developing economies.
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union are all members (EU).
The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, representing roughly 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of global trade, and roughly two-thirds of the global population.
India is currently a member of the G20 Troika (the current, previous, and incoming G20 Presidency), which includes Indonesia, Italy, and India.