PM Modi to embark for Bali today for G20 Summit

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to leave for Bali on Monday to attend the G20 Summit in Indonesia, which will host leaders of 20 countries -- representing around 85 per cent of the global GDP, and about two-thirds of the world's population -- for talks on key issues of global concern under the Summit theme of "Recover Together, Recover Stronger".

The Prime Minister will hold bilateral interactions with world leaders at the G20 summit in Indonesia and brief them on India's evolving G20 priorities.

This G20 Summit is particularly special because India will hold the presidency of the G20 Summit from 1st December 2022 for a one-year period, and the presidency handover will take place during the Summit in Bali.

"India's G20 presidency is coming at a time of crisis and chaos in the world. The world is going through the after-effects of a disruptive once-in-a-century pandemic, conflicts and a lot of economic uncertainty.

The symbol of the lotus in the G20 logo is a representation of hope in these times," PM Modi said at the launch of India's G20 logo last week. G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, and it plays a crucial role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic and developmental issues.

During the Summit, Prime Minister Modi and other G20 leaders will deliberate extensively upon key issues of contemporary relevance, including the state of global economy, energy, environment, agriculture, health and digital transformation etc.

The Bali Summit, slated for November 15-16, comprises three working sessions at the leaders' level, in which PM Modi will be participating. These include sessions on food and energy security, a session on digital transformation, and a session on health.

In a special press briefing on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said G20 deliberations have acquired a greater salience in the current global economic and political context. He said that the world is currently struggling with many important challenges coming on top of the existing environmental challenges, lack of progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the pandemic.

"These include uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, debt vulnerabilities especially in the countries of the global south, ongoing conflict in Europe, and its knock-on effect, such as food security challenges, energy crisis and inflation on all countries of the world," Kwatra said.

G20 leaders will discuss these challenges and underscore the importance of closer multilateral cooperation to help overcome these challenges.

As the incoming presidency, India has always actively engaged in the past and during this presidency of Indonesia also with all the G20 countries and participants throughout this year.

"Our position has been of steadfast and strong support to Indonesia, which as the Presidency has shown strong leadership in ensuring that the G20 platform discusses issues of substantive interest to the world.

The G20 Summit program also includes a leaders' visit to what is called Bahasa Indonesia, Taman Hutan Raya, a mangrove forest in Bali, on November 16.

"As you know, mangroves are an important refuge of coastal biodiversity and act as bio shields against extreme climatic events and as important carbon sinks. India's own mangrove cover is significant, with one of the highest biodiversity in the world. We also recently agreed to join the Global Mangrove Alliance, which was launched jointly by Indonesia and UAE," Kwatra said.

During his visit to Bali, PM Modi will also address and interact with the Indian community and friends of India and Bali, at the Indian community reception on November 15. The Prime Minister will depart Bali on November 16 at the conclusion of the Bali summit for India.