The leaders of the member countries of the G20 group gathered in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Saturday to discuss various global issues, including climate change, international security, cyber security, and nuclear disarmament.
During the G20 summit, there was extensive support for the African Union’s accession to the G20, making it the second regional bloc, after the European Union, to gain permanent membership in this group.
Another important topic discussed at this summit was an agreement for a rail and maritime transport corridor between the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the European Union, and other G20 member countries.
President Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India intend to declare this project as part of their commitment to global infrastructure investment. The rail and maritime corridor will facilitate increased trade, including energy production, among participating countries.
However, on the summit’s first day, the focus was primarily on addressing the contentious issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The leaders called for avoiding annexing other countries’ territories through force and limiting the use of nuclear weapons.
The fact that the G20 members did not explicitly condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine during the summit has led to Ukraine’s dissatisfaction with the outcome. Kyiv said that the first day of the G20 summit had nothing “worthy of pride.”
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, as the Chair of the G20, welcomed representatives and officials from all member countries. He invited all members to put an end to “global mistrust.” Modi made these statements when an unexpected move caught attention – instead of the country’s name “India,” the name preferred by Hindu nationalists, “Bharat,” was used on the plaque before him.
This unexpected action by the Indian Prime Minister has sparked speculation about a possible name change of the country from “India” to “Bharat.”
More than one-fifth of the G20 leaders were absent from the inauguration ceremony in Delhi. Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s Prime Minister, did not attend after testing positive for COVID-19. The President of Mexico also apparently decided not to come to India.
Leaders present at the summit include Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the UK, Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and Fumio Kishida of Japan.
