Foreign Ministers of member nations of the G20 are gathered in New Delhi, Republic of India, to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM), being held from 1st to 2nd March 2023, under India’s presidency. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum for international economic cooperation, comprising of 19 countries and the European Union.
Mauritius is represented by the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo. Mauritius is among the non-G20 countries, invited by India, to attend the meeting as a guest.
On Tuesday, Minister Ganoo met the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss matters pertaining to the G20 Meeting and the Mauritius-India relations. Mr Ganoo thanked the Indian External Affairs Minister for inviting Mauritius as a guest country at the G20 FMM, thereby enabling Mauritius to voice its views on global issues. Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar expressed his satisfaction with Mauritius’ participation and reiterated India’s commitment to developing a robust partnership and strong multilateral cooperation with Mauritius.
EAM S Jaishankar tweeted the following message: “Value Mauritius’ participation in G20. Reiterate our commitment to Neighbourhood first, Sagar & Forward Africa policies. Discussed robust development partnership & our strong multilateral cooperation.”
During these two days, the Foreign Affairs Ministers have been sharing their perspective on emerging global challenges and international matters. Discussions will also focus on several subjects including Strengthening Multilateralism and the Need for Reforms; Food and Energy Security; Development Cooperation; and Counterterrorism: New and Emerging Threats.
The meeting enabled both Ministers to confer as well on other issues pertaining to the robust development partnership and the strong multilateral collaboration, encompassing maritime security, and cooperation at regional and continental levels through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the India and Mauritius and the African Continental Free Trade.
Yesterday, Alan Ganoo met Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways Government of India. The latter wrote in a tweet: “During the meeting with senior officials from both nations, the discussion focused on strategies for promoting sustainable infrastructure development through effective collaboration.”
H.E. Alan Ganoo, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of the Republic of Mauritius called on Union Minister Shri @nitin_gadkari Ji in New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/sTExTAFV6U
— Office Of Nitin Gadkari (@OfficeOfNG) March 1, 2023
It is recalled that the Republic of India is assuming Presidency of the G20 for one year since 1st December 2022 to 30th November 2023. The Indian Government has announced that it will invite Mauritius as a guest country for the G20 Summit during its presidency, including the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government, scheduled from 09 to 10 September 2023 in New Delhi.
The Indian Prime Minister Modi is expected to address the Foreign Ministers of the countries of G20, and he will talk about India’s growing influence globally.
The March 1-2 meeting of the G20 Foreign Ministers will be held days after a meeting of finance chiefs in Bengaluru.
Those attending the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting include the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavro. European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajan, Australia’s Penny Wong, Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi and Argentine Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero are also among those attending the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting. In all, representatives of 40 countries, including non-G20 members invited by India, and multilateral organisations will attend.
