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

With respect to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which came into being at the G20 Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, US President Joe Biden has said that it is a "game-changing" regional investment.

Biden said that this project is about more than just laying tracks.

"I'm proud to announce that the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, Germany, Italy and EU finalized a historic agreement for a new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor," the US President posted on X.

"This project is about more than just laying tracks. This is a game-changing regional investment," he added.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "promises to be a beacon of cooperation, innovation, and shared progress." The corridor, according to him, is evidence of human endeavour and unity across continents.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has extended his wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the member nations for the adoption of the 'Delhi Declaration' on the opening day of the G20 Summit being organized here in the national capital.

“My warmest congratulations to PM@narendramodi and the member nations of the G20 on the adoption of the New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration,” Amit Shah said in a post on X on Saturday.

Further, he said, “In pursuit of our civilizational goal of promoting the welfare of humankind, the esteemed G20 leaders have arrived at a consensus to build bridges of trust among nations through diplomacy and cooperation. This marks a significant step towards a better future for all.”

Twenty heads of state, including US President Joe Biden and Sunak, are scheduled to leave Delhi on Monday, September 11, following their participation in the G20 Summit.

News agency ANI reported that the Centre has assigned responsibilities to Union ministers of states to see off the foreign delegates after the summit. A directive in this regard was issued by the foreign secretary.

The heads of state of countries including UAE, US, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Australia, UK, Argentina, Indonesia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, Japan, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore will depart from Delhi on Monday, the report added.

As India at its G20 presidency achieves 100% consensus in the New Delhi declaration after changing the text on Ukraine, Congress leader Manish Tewari said it is just clever drafting. "Rather than unequivocally condemning the aggression on Ukraine you get a formulation where reiteration of National positions becomes a Raison d'état I.e. National positions of aggressors and those who condemned the aggression are equated & harmonised," Manish Tewari observed. "The irony of finding middle ground and consensus in Multi Lateral fora could not have been more poignantly articulated..." Tewari tweeted. Dig deeper

1. The Group of 20 leading economies began the weekend's proceedings by welcoming the African Union, the newest member of a bloc which already represented 85 per cent of world GDP. Before Saturday, the G20 comprised 19 countries and the European Union, with South Africa its only member state from the continent.

The African Union at full strength has 55 members but six junta-ruled nations are currently suspended. It has a collective GDP of $3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.

2. G20 leaders have been deeply riven over the Ukraine war since Moscow's invasion last year, with Russian President Vladimir Putin skipping the summit entirely to dodge political opprobrium. Facing the prospect of a major diplomatic embarrassment, host India pressed members to agree a common statement that watered down its earlier condemnation of the war.

In the end, the G20 denounced the use of force for territorial gain but refrained from direct criticism of Russia by name. Kyiv's foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko criticised the statement, saying the G20 had "nothing to be proud of".

3. Leaders failed to agree on a phase-out of fossil fuels, despite a UN report a day earlier deeming the drawdown "indispensable" to achieving net-zero emissions. But for the first time, the G20 backed a target of tripling global renewable energy capacity and referenced the need for emissions to peak before 2025.

4. A broad alliance including the United States and Saudi Arabia unveiled ambitious plans to create a modern-day Spice Route linking Europe, the Middle East and India. It would establish railways, ports, electricity and data networks and hydrogen pipelines in a counterbalance to lavish Chinese infrastructure spending.

The Delhi Police said elaborate security arrangements have been put in place and checking is underway in view of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's visit to the Akshardham Temple on Sunday morning.

Sunak is expected to visit the temple with his wife Akshata Murthy. Police officials said security has been tightened in and around the temple.

Expressing pride for his ‘Hindu’ roots, Rishi Sunak on Friday expressed his hope that he will find time to visit a temple in India, during his stay for the G20 Summit.

“I am a proud Hindu. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I am. Hopefully, I can visit the Mandir while I am here for the next couple of days. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis… I didn’t have time to celebrate Janmashtami. But hopefully, as I said I can make up for that if we visit a Mandir this time,” Sunak told news agency ANI.

8:15am to 9am: The leaders and heads of the delegations will arrive at Rajghat in individual motorcades.

9am to 9:20am: The leaders will then lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's Samadhi. Also, a live performance of Mahatma Gandhi's favourite devotional songs.

9:20am: Leaders and heads of delegations will then move to Bharat Mandapam's Leaders' Lounge.

9:40am to 10:15am: Arrival of leaders and heads of delegation at Bharat Mandapam

10:15am–10:30am: Tree planting ceremony at Bharat Mandapam's South Plaza

10:30am–12:30pm: The third session of the summit, called 'One Future', will take place at the venue.

The Delhi Declaration of G20 begins by stating that this is a “defining moment in history” and that G20’s decisions today will affect the future of the people and planet. Don’t dismiss this as typical diplomatic hyperbole, for this recognition of the importance of the moment, and the implications for the long-term, is central to understanding India’s historic achievement on Saturday. Dig deeper

The “Bharat” country tag at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s table during his opening remarks at the G20 Summit grabbed attention on Saturday morning. Modi’s unequivocal endorsement of the country’s name came days after President Droupadi Murmu sent an invite for a dinner as part of the multilateral event in the name of the “President of Bharat”. Dig deeper

Adroit diplomacy, the leverage provided by long-standing goodwill, IOUs and personal relationships, and straightforward messaging of what the or-else option would involve — these were some of the levers India pulled to achieve a consensus on the historic Delhi Declaration of the G20, which was announced just a few hours after the leaders’ summit started on the morning of Saturday September 9, on Day 1 of the two-day meet. Dig deeper

As India successfully wraps up day one of the G20 Summit on Saturday under its Presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the G20 stands resolute in its mission to deliver for global good.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, PM Modi wrote, "Under the collective commitment of its members, the G20 stands resolute in its mission to deliver for global good."

Meanwhile, the summit took an interesting turn when PM Modi along with World Bank President Ajay Banga, Brazil President Lula da Silva, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, and US President Joe Biden, posed for a group picture.