At the end of the G20 summit, the host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, praised his own country. India is well positioned to bridge the gap in the Group of 20 leading industrialized and emerging countries and solve global problems, said Modi in the capital New Delhi. In this context, he proposed a virtual G20 summit at the end of November to assess the status of member states’ suggestions and proposals and determine “how their progress can be accelerated.”
At the same time, Modi completed the transition of the G20 presidency by passing the ceremonial gavel to Brazil’s head of state Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The next G20 meeting will take place next year in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. Officially, New Delhi’s chairmanship lasts until the end of November.
Scholz: “A summit of decisions”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the conference as a “summit of decisions”. There were important discussions, said Scholz in New Delhi. When it comes to major issues such as climate change, states have “not fallen behind” but have remained ambitious. With regard to the war in Ukraine, Scholz said that the G20 had made a “clear commitment” that Ukraine’s territorial integrity “is beyond question” and that borders should not be moved by force. In addition, the states have taken a clear position against the use of nuclear weapons.
The Chancellor also emphasized the “new cooperation between the classic states of the north in Europe and the north of America and the countries in the south of America, Asia and Africa.” This cooperation made it possible to make decisions “in which Russia had to accept that the international community did not agree with the violent principles of Russian politics, but instead opposed them.”
On Saturday, the summit participants had already agreed on a joint final declaration on, among other things, the war in Ukraine and global climate protection. It calls on “all countries” to refrain from the “use of force” to achieve “territorial gains.” The statement was worded softer than last year’s G20 communique and did not directly condemn Moscow. Ukraine has criticized the text as too weak.
The G20 has so far included 19 countries and the European Union. Right at the start of the meeting, the African Union (AU) was admitted as the 21st member.
Summiteers at Gandhi Memorial
The heads of state and government had previously paid tribute to the Indian freedom hero Mahatma Gandhi. After morning monsoon rains, Prime Minister Modi and his guests walked through puddles to the Raj Ghat memorial, where Gandhi was cremated after his assassination in 1948. After playing a Hindu hymn, the group paused in a moment of devotion and then laid floral wreaths in honor of the peace icon.
US President Joe Biden was among those guests who put on felt slippers for the visit instead of following the current barefoot rule. Many others, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Scholz, joined Modi in taking off their shoes and socks to walk to the marble pedestal where an eternal flame is said to keep Gandhi’s legacy alive.
The ceremony was part of Modi’s perfectly staged G20 summit, the success of which the prime minister has closely linked to himself. Before the Indian elections next year, Modi uses the meeting to present himself to his compatriots as an international statesman. Images of Modi adorned posters and bus stops across the country in advance, celebrating the coming together of the world’s major economies as a national triumph.
US press displeasure with Biden
US President Biden did not attend the last working session of the summit, but left for a visit to Vietnam. During his approximately 24-hour stay in the capital Hanoi, Biden wants to meet with the top politicians of the Communist Party and then give a press conference. It is Biden’s first real press appearance in the context of the G20 summit, which caused great displeasure in the US press.
sti/fab (afp, ap, dpa, rtr)
Source: DW
