G20 Summit highlights: President Murmu hosts lavish dinner for leaders, delegates

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 newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan is all set to host the 18th G20 Summit on Saturday, with several top world leaders and heads of global organisations scheduled to arrive soon at the venue. The leaders will be received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as per summit protocol. Dig deeper

The welcome handshake of all leaders with PM Modi will showcase the Konark Wheel from Odisha. The Konark Wheel was built during the 13th century under the reign of King Narasimhadeva-I. The wheel with 24 spokes is also adapted into India's national flag and embodies India's ancient wisdom, advanced civilization, and architectural excellence. The rotating motion of the Konark Wheel, symbolizes time, Kalachakra as well as progress and continuous change. It serves as a powerful symbol of the wheel of democracy that reflects the resilience of democratic ideals, and commitment to progress in society.

Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful nations begin an annual summit on Saturday in India's capital New Delhi, deeply divided over the war in Ukraine but in broad agreement on issues such as cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.

U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of 20 nations will gather for the two-day summit at a new, $300 million conch-shaped convention centre Bharat Mandapam.

Due to traffic regulations in connection with G20 Summit, commuters travelling to Airport are requested to take Rao Tula Ram Marg instead of Dhaula Kuan," tweets Delhi Traffic Police.

PM Modi arrives at Bharat Mandapam as two-day G20 Summit begins today. He was welcomed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.

US President Joe Biden shared a video on X, showing glimpses of his first day in India ahead of the G20 Summit. Take a look

On Saturday (September 9), Modi will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of the UK, Japan, Germany and Italy besides attending the G20 events. On Sunday (September 10), he will have a working lunch meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Both countries agreed to set up a Renewable Infrastructure Investment Fund with up $1 billion worth of investments ($500 million each). The leaders also agreed to cooperate on the accelerating nuclear energy in India for the power sector. The two lauded the settlement of the final World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute between the two countries.

The leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries have gathered in India’s capital, New Delhi, for the G20 summit.

Over two days, they are expected to coordinate policy on food security, vulnerable countries’ debt problems and climate action.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived here on Saturday morning to attend the two-day G20 summit.

A host of other leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached on Friday itself for the summit that will be held over the weekend.

All the leaders were given a traditional welcome at the airport and they were scheduled to gather at Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue, later in the day.

Welcoming the Brazilian president to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled that he met him recently in Johannesburg.

"I am happy to be getting the opportunity to meet him again at the G20 Summit. His views on various subjects will be eagerly awaited," Modi posted on X.

Brazil will take over the next presidency of G20 from India.

India will hand over the presidency to Brazil on December 1.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a group of countries which meets to discuss international economic cooperation and political issues.

The bloc currently accounts for 80 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), 75 percent of international trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

Although only treasury chiefs met in the initial years, heads of all member nations decided to meet once a year for a leaders’ summit after the 2008 global financial crisis.

As leaders started to arrive on Friday, Indian diplomats were still trying to find compromise language for a joint communique.

Russia and China, which has been Moscow’s most important supporter in the war against Ukraine, have rejected drafts that include a reference to Ukraine, which states that “most members strongly condemned the war”, the same language they signed off a year ago at the G20 summit in Indonesia’s Bali.

On the other hand, the European Union has said the compromise language proposed by India lacks the necessary strength for their approval.

This year’s summit is being held at Bharat Mandapam, a recently revamped conference centre in New Delhi.

The sprawling riverside site lies close to the towers of the 16th century Mughal-era Purana Qila fort, as well to Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi at the spot he was cremated – and where G20 leaders are expected to plant trees.

On Friday, Lutyens’ Delhi had more security personnel than civilians, guarding desolate, barricaded arterial roads and shut shops, as the central region was blanketed with stringent curbs in bolstered security measures a day before the main gathering of G20 leaders. Dig deeper

Most markets beyond the New Delhi area were vacant throughout Friday, as residents in the national capital stayed home and away from public spaces amid concerns over restrictions put in place for the G20 Summit. Dig deeper

Delhi’s civic agencies have made floral arrangements at public spaces, trees and rotaries, providing the finishing touch to the beautification drives carried out across the city in the run up to the G20 Summit. The floral arrangement included covering around 2,200 trees with marigold garlands, 20 Summit-themed floral boards, and 23 flower fountains at key locations around G20 venues, officials aware of the preparations said on Friday.