All eyes on India as PM Modi heads for G-20 summit in Bali

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bali, Indonesia from November 14-16 to attend the 17th G20 Summit at the invitation of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.

All eyes will be on India, for Widodo, at the end of the summit will symbolically hand over the G20 Presidency to PM Modi. India will formally assume the G20 Presidency from December 1.

On Tuesday  the Prime Minister unveiled the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 Presidency through video-conferencing, announcing that “this is a historic occasion for India” to showcase itself even as it leads the G20 group.

India’s logo for the G20 is the national flower lotus which symbolises hope during adverse times. The theme Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam signifies the spirit of universal brotherhood.

During the Bali Summit, G20 Leaders will deliberate extensively upon key issues of global concern under the Summit theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

India’s former ambassador to the UN Manjeev Puri told India Narrative that the Prime minister’s visit to Indonesia will be important to message the world that India has been contributing to “global good and is in a position to contribute to strengthening the world’s emerging economies”.

“Taking over the presidency of the G20 shows that India has arrived on the global stage”, says Puri, adding, “as the president you not only showcase yourself but also say that you are also in a position to add to the structure of the global emerging economy. India is already the fifth largest economy and is on track to become the third in a few years”.

Puri said that it is a tool to try and see how to restructure emerging economies and support them so that “development does not remain the prerogative of only the developed countries”.
Three working sessions will be held as part of the G20 Summit Agenda – food and energy security; health; and digital transformation.

“On the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts. Prime Minister will also address and interact with the Indian community in Bali,” the MEA said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Russian media reported today that the country’s President Vladimir Putin will skip next week’s G20 summit and could address it virtually instead.

The Russian delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

With countries representing more than 80 percent of the world’s GDP in one place for the G20 Summit, Washington announced earlier this week that US President Joe Biden will be heading to Bali to work with G20 partners to lay the foundations for a more sustainable and inclusive global economy.

Also read: PM Modi unveils Logo, Theme and Website for India’s G20 Presidency

India should be in the vicinity of the US economy in 20 years: Former ambassador Manjeev Puri