Modi uses ‘Bharat’ for G20 nameplate, not India :::::::::: African Union has been invited to join the G20 as a permanent member ::::::

Modi uses ‘Bharat’ for G20 nameplate, not India, amid name-change row 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s placard at the opening of the G20 summit on Saturday referred to India as “Bharat”, raising speculation of a change of name for the South Asian nation.

India is also called Bharat, Bharata, Hindustan — its pre-colonial names — in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially.

While the country has traditionally stuck to using India in titles such as president or prime minister while communicating in English, President Droupadi Murmu earlier this week referred to herself as the “President of Bharat” in a dinner invitation for a reception of G20 leaders, sparking controversy.

As Modi declared the summit in New Delhi open on Saturday, he sat behind a table nameplate that read “Bharat”, while the G20 logo had both names - “Bharat” written in Hindi and “India” in English.

Such placards have used “India” in the past.

Speaking in Hindi, the language spoken by a majority of the population, Modi said “Bharat welcomes the delegates as the President of the G20”.

New Delhi is hosting leaders of major economies for the bloc’s summit at a new, $300 million conch-shaped convention centre called Bharat Mandapam, opposite a 16th-century stone fort.

(The African Union has been invited to join the G20 as a permanent member

The G20 summit is being held in South Asia for the first time, with Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron attending) 

In a brief televised inaugural session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the move to make the 55-member African bloc the first new member of the G20 since its creation in 1999 to cope with a series of financial crises. 

“In keeping with the sentiment of sabka saath (with everyone), India had proposed that the African Union should be given permanent membership of the G20. I believe we all are in agreement on this proposal,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.

After saying “with your agreement”, Modi banged a gavel thrice to mark the entry of the African Union into the grouping. “Before we start our work, I invite the African Union president to take his position as a permanent member,” he said.

A small step in history: African Union joins G20 - now its G-21

Permanent G20 membership signals the rise of a continent whose young population of 1.3 billion is set to double by 2050 and make up a quarter of the planet’s people.

The AU’s 55 member states, which include the disputed Western Sahara, have pressed for meaningful roles in the global bodies that long represented a now faded post-World War II order, including the United Nations Security Council. They also want reforms to a global financial system - including the World Bank and other entities - that forces African countries to pay more than others to borrow money, deepening their debt.

Africa is increasingly courting investment and political interest from a new generation of global powers beyond the U.S. and the continent’s former European colonizers. China is Africa’s largest trading partner and one of its largest lenders. Russia is its leading arms provider. Gulf nations have become some of the continent’s biggest investors. Turkey ’s largest overseas military base and embassy are in Somalia. Israel and Iran are increasing their outreach in search of partners.

African leaders have impatiently challenged the framing of the continent as a passive victim of war, extremism, hunger and disaster that’s pressured to take one side or another among global powers. Some would prefer to be brokers, as shown by African peace efforts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Granting the African Union membership in the G20 is a step that recognizes the continent as a global power in itself. With full G20 membership, the AU can represent a continent that’s home to the world’s largest free trade area. It’s also enormously rich in the resources the world needs to combat climate change, which Africa contributes to the least but is affected by the most.

The African continent has 60% of the world’s renewable energy assets and more than 30% of the minerals key to renewable and low-carbon technologies. Congo alone has almost half of the world’s cobalt, a metal essential for lithium-ion batteries, according to a United Nations report on Africa’s economic development released last month. - AFP reports 

Two big names - Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping - aren’t at the summit, with representatives attending on their behalf * The leaders will discuss issues including climate change, food security and debt restructuring for poorer countries

** Indian PM Narendra Modi hopes a successful summit will boost the image he wants of India as a global powerhouse ahead of general elections next year **

But disagreements over Ukraine could make it tough for leaders to agree on a joint declaration)

 The plans for a sweeping, multinational ports and rail deal come at a critical time. To counter China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure push, Biden is pitching Washington as an alternative partner for and investor in developing countries at the G20, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

It also comes as the Biden administration seeks a broader diplomatic deal in the Middle East that would have Saudi Arabia recognise Israel. The negotiations over a multi-country infrastructure deal were first reported by Axios.

Beyond the diplomatic implications, officials said they hoped such an infrastructure deal could reduce shipping times, cost and the use of diesel and would make trade faster and cheaper.

Saudi Arabia will also participate in an investment forum. The event will be attended by India’s trade minister, Piyush Goyal, and the Saudi minister of investment, Khalid al-Falih, according to the organiser, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

Saudi Arabia is also in talks with Italy about potential Saudi investment in Rome’s new strategic fund, with the kingdom focusing on energy, sustainability, supply chains and sport to expand its presence in the country. - 'The Guardian' reported.

The US, Saudi Arabia, India and other nations are discussing a possible infrastructure deal that could reconfigure trade between the Gulf and south Asia, linking Middle Eastern countries by railways and connecting to India by port, according to US officials aware of the conversations.

The talks, which have also included the United Arab Emirates and Europe, may or may not yield a concrete result in time for an announcement on the sidelines of this week’s G20 leaders’ meeting, the officials said.

The conversations have been under way for months and are fluid, one of the officials said.

Joe Biden is in Delhi for the prestigious G20 conference. Biden, already held bilateral meeting with Modi, and may also have talks with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

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Draft G20 declaration leaves Ukraine paragraph blank

A draft of the G20 declaration accessed by the BBC shows that the paragraph on the Ukraine war has been left blank for now. The draft shows agreements on several issues, including banking reforms and cryptocurrency regulation.

But a paragraph on the "geopolitical situation" is blank in the draft, Reuters news agency also reported. The agency added that the contentious paragraph had been agreed upon by Western countries and now it was left to Russia to either accept it or agree to adding a note of dissent.

If Moscow doesn't accept both the options, Delhi may have to look at issuing a chair's summary, which host countries can use to show consensus on a majority of issues but not all of them.

A G20 official, who did not want to be named, said that it was a draft and could possibly change in the next 36 hours.

In an editorial piece in its mouthpiece Global Times, China claimed the US and the West only want to focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that they have “intensified their efforts to castrate the G20”.

The US earlier called on China to set aside its issues with India and not to “play the role of a spoiler” ahead of the G20 summit in Delhi, Beijing has hit back by accusing Washington and the West as a whole of pushing their own agenda and “wanting to tear the G20 apart”.

In an editorial piece in its mouthpiece 'Global Times', China claimed that the West is fixated on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and not “economic recovery and multilateral diplomacy”, which India, as G20 Chair, wants to focus on.

African Union now part of G-20 family

IANS: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday evening. So what do you expect the outcome of the meeting and how much Bangladesh will gain from the G20?

Asaduzzaman Khan: Actually, our relation is a deep rooted one with India since the inception of Bangladesh. We believe in everytime India-Bangladesh to remain united in every cause, definitely we get some result from this summit.

IANS: How is Bangladesh dealing with terrorism?

Asaduzzaman Khan. Our government is committed to deal with terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations. We have taken various measures to prevent, counter and respond to the threat of terrorism in Bangladesh, such as enacting and enforcing anti-terrorism laws and regulations, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act (2008) and the Money Laundering Prevention Act (2012), to criminalise terrorism and terrorist financing activities and to impose strict penalties for them.

Strengthening law enforcement and security agencies, such as the Rapid Action Battalion, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, and the Bomb Disposal Unit, to enhance their capacity and capability to detect, disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks and plots.

Enhancing border security and immigration control, such as by installing biometric systems, electronic passport machines, and advanced passenger information systems at all major ports of entry, to prevent the movement of terrorists and their resources across borders.