Ahead of the G20 Summit’s start on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the location of the Summit. PM Modi was greeted at the G20 venue by Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. In the midst of disagreements within the group over the Russia-Ukraine war, India is hosting the G20 Summit, which is set to take place today and tomorrow.
Among the world leaders who came in the national capital yesterday were US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japan PM Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The summit is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
The Summit would commence with the arrival of the world leaders at the venue (Bharat Mandapam) from 9.30 am onwards.
At around 10.30 the first session of the G20 Summit: ‘One Earth’ will take place. One Earth will be one of the main topics of discussion during the session at the G20 leaders’ summit. This session will focus on accelerating climate action through increased mitigation and strengthening the agenda of global net zero emission as soon as possible.
The theme of this year’s G20 Summit, which is taking place under India’s presidency is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth · One Family · One Future” – is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad. Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
After the conclusion of the ‘One Earth’ session, and followed by lunch, another session of ‘One Family’ would be conducted at 3 pm as a part of the Summit. At around 7 pm there will be a dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. Besides, the foreign delegates parliamentarians and ministers in the current Cabinet, the G20 Summit dinner will be attended by some of the former senior leaders of the nation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be taking part in the weekend summit. China, however, will be represented at the summit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia.
This is the first time that the G20 Summit is being hosted by India. Extensive preparations have been made to portray India’s traditions and strengths.