G20 Summit 2023 highlights: PM Modi visits ‘Crafts Bazaar’ at Bharat Mandapam

World leaders attended a G20 special dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rajghat. 

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said it took more than “200 hours of non-stop negotiations” by a team of Indian diplomats to deliver a consensus on the G20 declaration that was adopted at the 18th Leaders' Summit in New Delhi. He especially thanked joint secretaries Eenam Gambhir and Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur. Know about Amitabh Kant G20 team

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 a "significant stride" towards a more inclusive global dialogue. PM Modi stated that India looks forward to collaborative efforts that benefit the entire world.

PM Modi made the statement regarding the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 in a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. He made the statement in response to Kenyan President William Ruto's statement on the inclusion of the African Union in the G20.

The statement of leaders comes after the African Union was made a full member of the Group of Twenty (G20) under India’s presidency. In the first session of 'One Earth' of the G20 on Saturday, PM Modi announced that the African Union has been made a full member of the G20.

In a post on X, PM Modi stated, "Indeed, the inclusion of the @_AfricanUnion in the G20 is a significant stride towards a more inclusive global dialogue. We look forward to collaborative efforts that benefit not only our respective continents but also the entire world."

Kenyan President William Ruto welcomed the addition of the African Union. He noted that the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 will increase the voice of Africa, visibility and influence on the global stage and provide a platform to advance the common interest of people.

Britain will commit to provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing countries cope with climate change, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday at the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi.

The pledge would be the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to date to help the world tackle climate change, a government statement said.

The Green Climate Fund (GFC) - the world’s largest such fund - was set up under United Nations' climate change negotiations to help channel money needed by poor states to meet their targets to reduce carbon emissions, develop cleaner energy sources and adjust to a warming world.

Britain has committed to spend 11.6 billion pounds ($14.46 billion) on international climate finance between 2021 and 2026.

"Today’s pledge represents a 12.7% increase on the UK’s previous contribution to the GCF for the period of 2020-2023," Sunak's office said in a statement.

"At the iconic Rajghat, the G20 family paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi - the beacon of peace, service, compassion and non-violence. As diverse nations converge, Gandhi Ji’s timeless ideals guide our collective vision for a harmonious, inclusive and prosperous global future." tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi

US president Joe Biden concludes India visit, departs to Vietnam

Russia praised a G20 summit declaration that stopped short of directly criticising Moscow for the war in Ukraine and said the bloc's leaders had acted in the interest of conflict resolution as deliberations headed into a second day on Sunday, reports Reuters.

The group adopted a consensus declaration in New Delhi on Saturday that avoided condemning Russia for the war but called on all states not to use force to grab territory. Russia says it is conducting a "special military operation" there.

"There were very difficult negotiations on the Ukraine issue; first of all, the collective position of the BRICS countries and partners worked, everything was reflected in a balanced form ...", Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 sherpa, or government negotiator, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Interfax.

BRICs groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration consensus, Sigrid Kaag, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands says "It is good that there is a consensus document"

During the G20 Summit, UK PM Rishi Sunak emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts among world leaders in preparation for the upcoming COP28 Summit in December. Sunak urged leaders to take collective action to lower their respective countries' carbon emissions while also extending assistance to economically vulnerable nations in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces record climate aid commitment as G20 in India concludes. The UK will provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund which is the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change. The UK will contribute £1.62 billion ($2 billion) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was established by 194 countries following the Copenhagen Accord at COP15: British High Commission in India

G20 is a Group of 20 major world economies, comprising 19 nations and the European Union (EU). The group accounts for around 80 per cent of the gross world product (GWP), 75 per cent of international trade, two-thirds of the global population and 60 per cent of the world’s land area.

It includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

After a successful first day of the G20 summit being held under India’s presidency in New Delhi, the G20 summit now heads to day 2 of the world leader’s conclave.

Day 2 of the G20 summit started with the leaders visiting Delhi’s Raj Ghat to lay wreaths at the Samadhi of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. A musical tribute featuring favourite hymns of Mahatma Gandhi was also played at the wreath laying function.

The leaders will head for the Bharat Mandapam where a Tree planting ceremony will take place at the South Plaza. This will be followed by the the third session of the G20 summit 'One Future' which will be held at Bharat Mandapam.

A G20 exhibition for spouses of World leaders is also scheduled for the 2nd day of the summit.

"Thanks to the great efforts of Minister @nsitharaman during India's G20 presidency the world has a unified perspective on dealing with crypto assets, significant progress was made on MDB reforms & on debt issues through India's joint leadership of the Sovereign Debt Roundtable," posts Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath. 

After laying wreaths at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat, G20 leaders are heading to Bharat Mandapam once again for a tree plantation ceremony. This will be followed by the third and final G20 session "One Future"

European Union official said that the G20 declaration was far from clear till the last moment.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Rishi Sunak, offered prayers at Akshardham Temple on Sunday morning. After offering prayers, Sunak left the Akshardham Temple premises to accompany world leaders at Rajghat. Dig deeper

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed US President Joe Biden at Delhi’s Raj Ghat as he arrived to pay homage to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi here in the national capital on Sunday.

PM Modi received President Joe Biden as he entered the premises of Raj Ghat and offered him a gift of khadi.

French President Emmanuel Macron also arrived at Delhi's Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and lay a wreath. Indonesia President Joko Widodo too visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa also arrived at Delhi's Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and lay a wreath.

The G20 leaders' declaration avoided mentioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and made a general call to all states to follow the principle of respecting each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, in what is largely seen as a climbdown by the Western powers on the conflict.

India managed to hammer out an unexpected consensus among the G20 countries on the contentious issue through a series of hectic negotiations with emerging economies such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia playing a leading role in reaching the breakthrough.

Sources said these three countries also helped in drafting the text that drew every member nation's approval.

The declaration issued at the G20's Bali summit last November had deplored in the strongest terms the Russian aggression against Ukraine while most members strongly condemned the war.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who attended the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi, has posted a picture of the event with US President Joe Biden.

In the picture shared by Stalin on his social media account X on Sunday, the Tamil Nadu CM can be seen shaking hands with Joe Biden.

In the photograph, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also can be seen.

However, amid a row over India vs Bharat name, the CM captioned the picture with “Attended the #G20Dinner at Kaveri Table hosted by Hon'ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn.”

Endorsing the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB’s) high-level recommendations for the regulation of crypto-assets, the Delhi Declaration adopted by the G20 leaders asserted they continue to closely monitor the risks of the fast-paced developments in the crypto ecosystem.

“We ask the FSB and SSBs to promote the effective and timely implementation of these recommendations in a consistent manner globally to avoid regulatory arbitrage,” the Delhi Declaration document read.

Two days ahead of the G20 Summit meeting in New Delhi, the IMF and the FSB had come up with a paper on crypto, which stated a comprehensive policy and regulatory response for crypto-assets is necessary to address the risks of crypto-assets to macroeconomic and financial stability.

The paper was prepared at the request of the Indian G20 Presidency.

India’s position on crypto has been that any legislation for regulation for banning cryptocurrencies can be effective only after significant international collaboration on the evaluation of the risks and benefits.

It took over 200 hours of non-stop negotiations by a team of Indian diplomats to deliver a consensus on the G20 declaration that was adopted at the Leaders' Summit here, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Sunday.

The team of diplomats, including joint secretaries Eenam Gambhir and K Nagraj Naidu, held 300 bilateral meetings and circulated 15 drafts with their counterparts on the contentious Ukraine conflict to drive home a consensus that was clinched on the first day of the G20 Leaders Summit itself.

"The most complex part of the entire G20 was to bring consensus on the geopolitical paras (Russia-Ukraine). This was done over 200 hours of non-stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings, 15 drafts," Kant said.