Modi to visit Bali from Nov 14-16 for G-20 summit, hold bilateral meets

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Indonesian city of Bali from November 14 to 16 to attend the G-20 summit, the ministry of external affairs announced on Thursday.

On the sidelines of the summit, Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts.     

The summit is likely to be attended by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others.

The leaders are expected to deliberate on the Ukraine conflict, its implications on food and energy security and other pressing global issues such as climate change.

Modi is attending the summit at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Indonesia is the current chair of G-20.     

"During the Bali summit, G20 leaders will deliberate extensively upon key issues of global concern under the summit theme of 'Recover Together, Recover Stronger'. Three working sessions will be held as part of the G20 summit agenda -- food and energy security, health and digital transformation," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing. 

He said President Widodo will symbolically hand over the G20 presidency to Prime Minister Modi at the closing session of the summit.

India will formally assume the G20 presidency from December 1.

"On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts. The prime minister will also address and interact with the Indian community in Bali," Bagchi said.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).

The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation representing around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India.

On Tuesday, Modi unveiled the logo, theme and the website of India's G20 presidency.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said India's G-20 presidency will be an opportunity for it to share its expertise with the world in areas of women empowerment, democracy and digital technologies.

The prime minister also said that as the chair of the influential grouping, India's endeavour would be that there should be "no first world or third world" and it should be only "one world".

"A big opportunity has come. It is a matter of pride for every Indian, it is a matter of increasing his pride," Modi said in his address at the online event.