On the sidelines of the G20 Summit conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a series of high-level bilateral meetings with several world leaders. He will hold talks with the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, before meeting the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, followed by his scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday. This is what the Hindustan Times and the Indian press has announced.
The Indian Prime Minister will continue his busy schedule by meeting French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, where he will also hold talks with Comorian President Azali Assoumani, who currently holds the presidency of the African Union.
The African Union’s invitation to the G20 summit was initiated by Prime Minister Modi, highlighting India’s focus on economic growth and development in the pandemic-affected countries of the South.
While work on the G20 communiqué is underway, leaders will have to navigate geopolitical issues such as Ukraine and climate change, even though the G20’s main charter concerns economic growth and development. Two issues will be addressed by ministers and leaders during the negotiations: Ukraine and the debate on phasing out coal in favor of other fossil fuels to combat climate change. Although the debate over coal versus other fossil fuels is the focus of COP28 in Dubai this November-December in the United Arab Emirates, the subject will be hotly debated, with the summit expected to result in an understanding of sustainable development with defined green targets. There seems to be a broad consensus on the need to focus on sustainable development goals and promote grains for global food security.
For his part, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to the economic recovery of the global South, with a particular focus on Africa, the region hardest hit by the global pandemic and in need of help from the G20 group to recover and counter the political instability in parts of the continent.
