Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth to the G20 summit to be held in Delhi in September 2023. This will be a first on the international economic front for Mauritius. After Indonesia this year, it is the Big Peninsula that will host the summit of the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies in New Delhi on 9-10 September next year. India will hold the G20 presidency from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.
Besides Mauritius, India will invite Bangladesh, Egypt, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates as ‘guest’ countries to the G20 summit during its presidency, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement. India will also invite the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Asian Development Bank as guest international organisations.
Established in 1999 in response to the financial crises that hit emerging economies in the late 1990s, the G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States – and the European Union (EU). Spain is a permanent guest.
Collectively, the G20 represents 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world’s population. This makes it the premier forum for international economic cooperation. In addition, the G20 meets regularly throughout the year in ministerial meetings, working and engagement groups and special events to discuss the international economic and financial system.
It is traditional for the G20 Presidency to invite countries and international organisations to its meetings and summits. As India is a friendly country, its Head of State extended a formal and not least invitation to Mauritius as Guest Country to participate in this intergovernmental forum. Thus, Pravind Jugnauth will be among the most economically powerful heads of state in the world.
The international organisations that usually attend are the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as the presidents of regional organisations such as Asean (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
Behind the scenes in the Prime Minister’s office, the news is welcomed with pride. “This shows the importance India attaches to Mauritius as a friendly country. This is a great thing,” they say.
