China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 summit in New Delhi, according to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. In an interview with ANI news agency, Jaishankar stated that their absence is not unusual and has nothing to do with India.
Jaishankar explained that the sherpas of the G20 countries are currently negotiating to build a consensus and arrive at a declaration for the summit, which will take place on September 9-10. When asked if Putin and Xi were skipping the summit due to any grievances with India, Jaishankar dismissed the idea, stating, “No, no. I do not think it has anything to do with India.”
He further emphasized that the negotiations for the summit are still ongoing and said, “We are negotiating right now…the clock did not start ticking yesterday.” However, he acknowledged that the expectations from the G20 summit are very high, and New Delhi faces the challenge of dealing with a “very difficult world” impacted by the pandemic, conflict, climate change, debt, and politics.
The G20 summit brings together the major economies of the world to address pressing global issues. However, the deep geopolitical divide over the war in Ukraine poses a significant obstacle to any potential progress. Analysts and officials have expressed concerns that the absence of Putin and Xi, coupled with divisions over the war, will make it challenging to reach a consensus Leaders Declaration at the summit.
U.S. President Joe Biden will focus on reforming the World Bank and encouraging other multilateral development banks to increase lending for climate change and infrastructure projects during the summit. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his intention to discuss digital issues and food security. India has also mentioned ongoing discussions regarding a global framework to regulate crypto assets.
Despite the potential hurdles, the G20 summit remains a crucial platform for world leaders to find solutions to global challenges. The absence of Putin and Xi may impact the consensus-building process, but negotiations are still underway to address the pressing issues facing the world today.
Reporting by YP Rajesh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan