‘Hello Delhi! It’s great to be in India’
Agencies | New Delhi
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Closed-door discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden took center stage in New Delhi yesterday as prominent global leaders continued to arrive in India for the G20 summit.
Biden and Modi last met in person in June when the Indian leader was a guest during a White House state visit.
Following their talks, Modi wrote on Twitter: “Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive. We were able to discuss numerous topics that will further economic and people-to-people linkages between India and the USA. The friendship between our nations will continue to play a significant role in furthering global good.”
Earlier, upon landing in India, Biden said, “Hello Delhi! It’s great to be in India for this year’s G20.” Meanwhile, television broadcasts showed the arrival of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Asaad, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and other top leaders.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and sending Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also be absent. In anticipation of the summit, the typically bustling streets of the capital, New Delhi, lay deserted.
Businesses, offices, and schools remained closed as part of security measures to ensure the smooth execution of this high-powered event, the most significant ever hosted by the country.
“Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Sunak, who is of Indian heritage and is on his first visit to the country since becoming prime minister, arrived with his wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of one of India’s richest men.
Sunak later spoke to British broadcasters about the importance of coming to New Delhi and his historical family roots in the subcontinent. “My story is not that dissimilar from millions of British people; the living bridge that exists between India and the UK is very powerful,” he said.
Sunak’s parents were born into the Indian diaspora in East Africa and trace their heritage back to pre-independence Punjab in northern British India. He became prime minister in October 2022, the same day Hindus marked Diwali, the festival of lights.
Speaking in Delhi on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that a Chinese slowdown carried risks for the entire globe. “China faces a variety of both short- and longer-term global challenges, economic challenges that we’ve been monitoring carefully,” she said.
The African Union looks set to become the newest member of the G20, officials said Friday, as the bloc's bid won backing from existing members gathered for a summit in India.
G20 host and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the pan-African organisation to become a permanent member, arguing developing nations need a greater say in global decision-making.
The proposal has won backing from Washington and on Friday the European Union said it would also back the move. "I look forward to welcoming the AU as a permanent member of the G20", European Council president Charles Michel told reporters in New Delhi, where the two-day G20 summit begins on Saturday.
Sunak meeting students and staff at British Council in India. On the meeting, he wrote on X, “Before meeting the world leaders of today I’ve been meeting with the world leaders of tomorrow.”
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Argentina’s Prez Alberto Fernandez
UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sayyid Asaad
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Related Posts