The virtual meeting of G20 leaders is taking place a day after leaders of the BRICS grouping held an extraordinary meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a virtual summit of G20 leaders today which would give them an opportunity to discuss the implementation of the Delhi Declaration adopted in September and several new challenges that have emerged since then.
Addressing a press conference here ahead of the summit, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said the deliberations will witness "excellent participation" from leaders of the grouping amid reports of China's Xi Jinping skipping the virtual meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Kant described the virtual summit as "rare and exceptional" which would give Modi an opportunity to interact with world leaders for a second time during India's G20 Presidency before it passes on to Brazil in December.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had skipped the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.
"The virtual summit of the G20 being will also be a major gathering of world leaders since the conclusion of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and the SDG Summit," Kant said. Noting that several challenges have emerged since the September G20 summit, Kant said development would be the primary focus of the virtual meeting and leaders might engage in discussions on a myriad of other issues.
"We are expecting a large majority of G20 leaders to be present," said Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra in response to questions. He said it would not be correct to pre-judge if the issues of geo-political tensions will be raised at the meeting.
The virtual meeting of G20 leaders is taking place a day after leaders of the BRICS grouping held an extraordinary meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"The virtual summit will provide an opportunity not only to discuss the implementation of the leaders' declaration but also for the leaders to share views and enhance cooperation on critical challenges," Kant said.
He said the goal was to address gaps in global governance, reaffirm commitments to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and progress toward a revitalised multilateral system better positioned to positively impact people's lives.
Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said it is expected that Wednesday's meeting will give further momentum and guidance on issues related to the finance track and then hand it over to Brazil which will take over the G20 presidency from December 1.
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 "India hosts virtual G20 summit today: Will China, Russia attend this time?")
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