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

G20 Summit LIVE updates: The Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Saturday the G20's joint declaration was "nothing to be proud of" and criticised it for not mentioning Russia. Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko posted a screenshot of the relevant section of the joint declaration, with several pieces of the text crossed out in red and corrected with wording which reflects Ukraine's position that it is a victim of unprovoked Russian aggression. "It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side (in the G20 meeting) would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation," he wrote on Facebook.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: UK PM Rishi Sunak met with Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on Saturday evening during the President dinner.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: The country’s G20 presidency has made “India world-ready and the world India-ready" even as New Delhi ensured that the concerns of the Global South constituted the core agenda of deliberations within the grouping, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday

• Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing a media briefing along with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, chief G20 coordinator Harsh Shringla and foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra shortly after the Indian side clinched a consensus leaders’ declaration.
• “The G20 has contributed to making India world-ready and the world India-ready," he said. “No one left behind” has now become a goal for foreign policy as much as domestic policies, he pointed out.
• While noting that the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues, the leaders recognised they can have significant consequences for the global economy. "In particular, they dwelt on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the impact it has had, especially on developing and least developing nations still recovering from the pandemic and economic disruptions," Jaishankar said.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacts with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina at the G-20 Dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Both sessions – ‘One Earth’ and ‘One Family’ – of the much-awaited G20 Leaders' Summit on the first day concluded with achieving the significant joint declaration after full consensus by the member states. The 37-page declaration has also mentioned the ‘War in Ukraine’ and added Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Today’s era must not be of war' remark on conflicts.

• Moreover, after much anticipation, the Group of Twenty (G20) nations have officially made the African Union a permanent member of the intergovernmental forum. The grouping had 19 countries along with the European Union (EU), and the joining of the 55-member African bloc adds another member to the forum. 
• Leaders' Declaration: With a climbdown on its language from last year's summit in Bali, this year's declaration featured PM Modi's comment on conflict resolution, indicating that the G7 nations and EU have appreciated India's stance amid Russia-Ukraine crisis.
• India's rail, waterway link to Middle-East and Europe: The formal announcement of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Corridor on the sidelines of the G20 Summit has paved way for the first-of-its-kind drive to strengthen trade ties between India and other countries in the sub-continent like Nepal and Bangladesh will be shipped to various ports in Europe including Italy, Germany and France.
• Push for climate financing: The Green Development Pact will a step towards tackling with such challenge. This declaration calls upon the developed nations to double their funding for the cause from $100 billion a year by 2025. The India-led ‘global biofuels alliance’ has also been announced in a bid to form a group international organisations, governments and industries to ensure the adoption of biofuels.

G20 Summit updates: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday dismissed any comparison between the Bali declaration and the New Delhi declaration of the G20 leaders and said the situation when the Bali Declaration was adopted was different. 

• "In regards to the comparison with the Bali declaration, I can only say Bali was Bali and New Delhi is New Delhi. Bali was a year ago, the situation was different. Many things have happened since then," Jaishankar said at the press conference after the consensus was achieved over the joint statement of the G20 leaders.
• "In the geo-political segment of the leaders' declaration, there are in totality eight paragraphs and seven of which actually focus on the Ukraine issue and many of them highlight problems which are of great contemporary significance...One should not have a theological view of this," Jaishankar said.
• “New Delhi declaration responds to the situation and concerns as it is today just as the Bali declaration did in a situation which was there a year ago,” the external affairs minister said.

G20 Summit updates: Amid the ongoing two day G20 Summit in New Delhi that began Saturday, a United States delegate showcased her impressive Hindi speaking skills while discussing the Indo-US joint declaration, announced a day ahead of the summit. The delegate was identified as the US State Department’s Hindustani Spokesperson, Margaret MacLeod, who is entrusted with communicating US foreign policy priorities to Hindi and Urdu speakers around the world.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Joe Biden on Saturday tweeted about the enhanced commitment by India, Brazil, South Africa and the US towards G20. 

• “Together, the United States, India, Brazil, and South Africa reaffirm our shared commitment to the G20 – delivering solutions for our shared world,” he said.
• The four nations, as the G20's current and next three presidencies, called for building on the "historic progress" of India's G20 presidency to address global challenges.
• "We, the Leaders of India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States, met on the margins of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi to reaffirm our shared commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation to deliver solutions for our shared world," according to a joint statement.
• "As the G20's current and next three Presidencies, we will build on the historic progress of India's G20 Presidency to address global challenges," the statement said.
• In this spirit, together with the World Bank President, the four countries welcomed the G20's commitment to build better, bigger, and more effective multilateral development banks.
• "This commitment underscores what we can do, by working together through the G20, to support our people toward a better future," the statement said.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: French diplomatic sources on New Delhi G-20 Leaders' Summit Declaration: “This is a very satisfactory G20 declaration from our point of view.”

• The Indian Presidency wanted to see a language of consensus emerge. To achieve a language of consensus on a subject as divisive as Ukraine, we had to be able to reaffirm what we said in Bali, which we have done by recalling the Bali conversation, we had to refer to the United Nations texts, which are indeed mentioned and then we had to affirm a few obvious points for us. 
• But these are not necessarily obvious for everyone, a war of territorial conquest is unacceptable, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States must be respected, and a just and lasting peace must respect these principles. All this is well incorporated in the text and, as was our main objective at this summit, enables us to look ahead to what should be the solution for a just and lasting peace at the end of the war in Ukraine.
• The statement says that all states must refrain from conquering territories by force. Russia is the only country to have done so. All this helps to build consensus for the future

G20 Summit LIVE updates: UK PM Rishi Sunak, wife Akshata Murthy arrived at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on Saturday for the grand G20 dinner, that is being hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.

• The couple was received by PM Modi, Murmu at the entrance as they posed for photographs and shared candid moments before proceeding towards the main hall.
• More than 400 guests are set to attend the President dinner, where a diverse array of cuisines and splendid traditional performances await them.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Several guests arrived at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on Saturday evening for the G20 dinner to be hosted by President Murmu.

PM Modi and Murmu were seen receiving the dignitaries and representatives at the G20 venue. 

Leaders who have arrived so far:

• Spain’s Vice-President Nadia
• World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom
• Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte
• Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
• Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
• Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and his wife Kobita Jugnauth
• World Bank president Ajay Banga
• Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi 
• Secretary General of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann

More than 400 guests are expected to join the grand feast.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Several leaders started arriving at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on Saturday evening for the grand G20 dinner set to hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom was also clicked with PM Modi, Murmu at the event ahead of the dinner.

• A three-hour long performance, which an ensemble of artists from across the country have been perfecting since August 31, will be a part of the dinner being hosted by the President.
• The event will be attended by 400 guests from across the world.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu arrived at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on Saturday evening where the grand G20 dinner will be hosted by Murmu.

• Dignitaries from across the world in Delhi for the G20 summit will experience musical performances from 78 artists that will showcase India’s rich musical heritage using 34 Hindustani, 18 carnatic, and 40 folk instruments, officials said.
• A three-hour long performance, which an ensemble of artists from across the country have been perfecting since August 31, will be a part of the dinner being hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on September 9 in Delhi that will be attended by 400 guests from across the world.
• Six-year-old Rakshita, playing the violin, will be the youngest performer, while 56 years-old dhangali player Sonu Dhavalu Mhase is the oldest member of the ensemble. In total, the group consists of 11 children, 13 women, 6 differently abled (divyang) artists, 26 men and 22 professionals, officials familiar with the matter added.

G20 LIVE updates: In a massive breakthrough, the G20 member states on Saturday adopted a 100 percent consensus to the New Delhi Leaders' Summit Declaration, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Calling it “historic and pathbreaking”, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said India's G20 Presidency “delivered phenomenal action on high ambitions for the world.”

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while addressing a press conference said the Declaration focuses on promoting strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thanked the G20 member nations for their “cooperation and support” towards the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration. Highlighting PM Modi's leadership, the minister said his “human-centric approach to global development had resonated strongly with the international community.”

G20 Summit LIVE updates: India on Saturday proposed to launch a G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation, with an aim to help the countries of the global south.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the suggestion at the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Bharat Mandapam international convention centre here in the presence of world leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa among others.
• Modi said the G20 satellite mission would be beneficial for all of humanity just as the data obtained from India's successful Chandrayaan moon mission.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: US president Joe Biden on Saturday hailed the proposed India-Europe-Middle East corridor as a “real big deal”.

Sources said it will be a historic and first of its kind initiative for cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Europian Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

The development comes amid the ongoing G20 summit which, in a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, agreed on a join declaration.

The iconic wheel at the Sun Temple of Konark in Odisha which served as backdrop for Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming with delegates on Saturday at the G20 Summit in Delhi apart is not just an architectural marvel, but has myriad significance, experts said.

• The 13th century monument dedicated to the sun god Surya and shaped like a gigantic chariot with 7 horses on 12 pairs of beautifully decorated wheels has overwhelmed its many of its visitors with Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore describing it as a place “where the language of man is defeated by the language of stone”. 
• Of all the parts of the World Heritage monument, the wheel remains the most celebrated symbol of the temple as it adorns several drawing rooms. Last month celebrity chef Vikas Khanna unveiled a replica of the wheel at the Times square of New York City. The wheel is also depicted on the back side of the currency notes of ₹10.
• Experts say the 12 pairs of wheels made of Khondalite stones signify the 12 months of the year and the 8 spokes on each of the wheels represent the 8 prahars or time divisions of the day.
• The 7 horses represent the days of a week and the 12 pairs of wheels represent the 12 months of the year and the 24 wheels indicate 24 hours of a day. As for 8 major spokes, they signify prahars (three hour period) of a day.
• The wheel has 8 wider or major spokes and 8 thinner or minor spokes. The distance between two major spokes is 3 hours while the same between a major spoke and a minor spoke is 90 minutes. 

Amid the G20 Summit, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) on Saturday hosted a lavish luncheon and a splendid exhibition for the members of the family of heads of State. The culinary treat during their lunch break boasted a diverse array of cuisines, offering options such as 'Tadka dal' and 'chaat, straight from the bustling ‘streets of Delhi.’

• Alongside these delights, they can also savor a range of cuisines that includes 'Pumpkin and Coconut Shorba,' 'Naga Black Rice Bhel,' 'Beetroot and Peanut Butter Tikki,' and 'Bengal Mustard,' among other delicacies. Further, it includes treats like ‘Anar Kulfi Sorbet’, ‘Slow Roast Pumpkin with Coconut Curry’, ‘Appalam’, ‘Wild Nettle Raita’, ‘Herb Jowar Roti’, ‘Coconut and Curry Leaf Pulao’, and a Haji Ali inspired dessert, the ‘Custard Apple Cream’.

India Middle East Europe connectivity corridor would be be launched soon, as per sources. This will be a historic and first of its kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany and USA.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he was confident a free trade deal with India could be secured but cautioned there was still hard work to do.

• "There's a desire on both of our parts to see a successful trade deal concluded...but there is a lot of hard work that's still to go," Sunak told reporters after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the gathering of the Group of 20 major economies in New Delhi.
• "There has to be a win-win for both countries."
• Negotiations on a trade deal began in January 2022 and have already missed several political deadlines. But recent comments from both Britain and India have suggested progress has been made.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: Countries must refrain from use of force to seize territories, G20 countries said in a joint declaration at their summit in New Delhi on Saturday, avoiding any direct mention of Russia for the war in Ukraine.

"In line with the U.N. Charter, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state," the leaders said in the statement.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: The G20 members resolved to work with private sector to promote ease of doing business and reduce cost.

• Use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible
• G20 members recognise critical role of private enterprise in accelerating growth, driving sustainable economic transformations
• We commit to close gender gaps, promote full, equal, effective women's participation in economy as decision-makers
• We have opportunity to build better future, no country should have to choose between fighting poverty & fighting for planet
• We reiterated our national positions and resolutions adopted at UNSC and UNGA: G20 Declaration on Ukraine conflict.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: During a session, EAM S Jaishankar said Saturday that “G20 Declaration highlights transformation, inclusive role of technology with focus on digital public infrastructure.”

• He said “G20 recognises post-pandemic world order must be different from one before it; leaders stressed on reinvigorating multilateralism.”
• Nirmala Sitharaman said “We assumed the presidency at a challenging time of geo-political tensions...Today I can confidently state that the Indian G-20 Presidency has walked the talk.”

G20 Summit LIVE updates: “We have consciously sought to make this G20 as inclusive and broad-based as possible. It is a matter of particular satisfaction for us that the African Union this morning has become the permanent member of G20, under India’s presidency”: EAM S Jaishankar.

G20 Summit LIVE updates: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Saturday lauded the 'New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration' and said “Historical and Path breaking #G20 Declaration with 100% consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues. The new geopolitical paras are a powerful call for Planet, People, Peace and Prosperity in todays world . Demonstrates PM Modi's leadership in today’s world.”

• He also said “G20 India has been the MOST ambitious in the history of #G20 presidencies. With 112 outcomes and presidency documents, we have more than tripled the substantive work from previous presidencies.”
• He further outlined the focus of the declaration. "The NewDelhiLeadersDeclaration focuses on - Strong, Sustainable, Balanced, and Inclusive Growth, Accelerating Progress on SDGs, Green Development Pact for a Sustainable Future, Multilateral Institutions for the 21st Century, Reinvigorating Multilateralism.