Friday, September 8, 2023

BBC reports on 'historic' arrival of British PM Rishi Sunak for G20 Summit in Delhi


(A British prime minister of Indian heritage, as India hosts the world - or at least a huge economic chunk of it...., reports BBC) 


 Rishi Sunak has arrived in Delhi for the G20 summit - a meeting of leaders from the 19 biggest economies in the world plus the European Union.


He becomes the first prime minister of Indian heritage to visit the country.


No 10 say the "historic" visit will be "a powerful reminder of the living bridge between the two countries".









Mr Sunak is accompanied by his wife Akshata Murty, who was born and grew up in India and is the daughter of one of India's richest men.



The G20 is something of a diplomatic blancmange. Many of the members of it have very little in common beyond big economies.


But that is the point of it - bringing together those countries that are the engine room of the global economy.


The G20 is a child of the 21st Century - conceived in 1999 and growing in stature after the 2008 financial crisis.


It means the discussions within it are often very broad. But the get-together also gives the chance for leaders to meet one on one, in what are known as "bilaterals".


Speaking on the way to the summit, Mr Sunak said he was "excited to be back" in India, calling it "a country that is very near and dear to me".


He said: "It's obviously special. I saw somewhere that I was referred to as India's son-in-law, which I hope was meant affectionately!"



Russia's President Vladimir Putin will be missing, for the second year in a row.


"Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20," the prime minister said. "He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality.







"The rest of the G20, meanwhile, are demonstrating that we will turn up and work together to pick up the pieces of Putin's destruction."


But it is more complex than that. President Xi of China isn't coming either. And some G20 members are a lot less committed than others to Ukraine.


The hosts, India, for a start, continue to buy lots of oil from Russia. The PM refused to say whether he was planning to meet Chinese premier Li Qiang during the summit.


He told reporters on the flight he was "expecting to see a range of people… over the course of the couple of days we're all there" but refused to say whether he would meet face to face.


The prime minister (Rishi Sunak) will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where it is likely they will talk about a UK-India free trade agreement. There is increasing optimism a deal can be reached soon.


India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she hoped it would be done before the end of the year. Downing Street has refused to be drawn on a timescale and Mr Sunak said a deal was "is not a given".


His predecessor-but-one former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had said in 2022 that he wanted a "deal by Divali", but Mr Sunak said: "These things are a lot of work and a lot of time - that's why I've never put artificial deadlines on these trade deals.


"I've always said we shouldn't sacrifice quality for speed."  India's desire for visas with more flexibility has long been seen as a potential sticking point in the negotiations.


The (UK) prime minister's official spokesman told us: "This is a trade deal which is focused on trade and business - immigration is a separate issue. "The only aspect of the movement of people covered by a free trade agreement is business mobility, which is the temporary movement of business people for specific purposes."


Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said the Conservatives had said the trade deal "would be completed by last October" and claimed Mr Sunak "arrives at the G20 as a minnow on the global stage".  Ahead of his trip, the British PM came under pressure from MPs to raise the case of British man Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been in prison, on death row, in India.


Mr Sunak twice refused to commit to raising the issue with Prime Minister Modi.


But for all the politics, and diplomacy, the early focus of this trip will be pictorial, symbolic and drenched in history - a British prime minister visiting a former British colony. A British prime minister of Indian heritage, as India hosts the world - or at least a huge economic chunk of it.





Huge cut-outs of langur monkeys have been installed in Delhi to scare off smaller monkeys



What is the G20?


The G20 - or Group of Twenty - is a club of countries that meets to discuss global economic and political issues.
Between them, G20 countries account for 85% of the world's economic output and more than 75% of world trade. They contain two-thirds of global population.


The G20 members are the EU plus 19 nations: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US.  A smaller group of G20 member countries meets as the G7.

Why was the G20 set up, and why does it matter? The group was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis. It was designed to be a forum for finance ministers and officials to discuss ways to restore economic stability.


The first leaders' summit was held in 2008 in response to that year's financial turmoil, to promote international cooperation. The G20 has broadened its focus in recent years to include issues such as climate change and sustainable energy.


Every year, a different G20 member state takes over the presidency, and sets the agenda for the leaders' summit.


What will the G20 summit be about and who is attending? As 2023 president, India wants the summit to focus on issues such as: sustainable development - "striving for just and equitable growth for all in the world", debt forgiveness for developing countries.


US President Joe Biden is likely to talk to leaders of developing nations about proposals to reform the World Bank, which could result in more money being available to them to spend on infrastructure, as well as measures to tackle climate change.


A lot of the negotiations are likely to take place in one-to-one meetings between leaders on the sidelines of the main hall.



India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi would like the summit to promote his country as a major global power, and himself as an important world leader, ahead of a general election due in spring 2024.


He will try to make sure that it is not dominated by rows about the war in Ukraine, as happened at the 2022 summit in Bali, in Indonesia. Arguments about the conflict meant there was no joint statement at the end of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting held in Delhi in March.


Russia's President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit. He is sending his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. China's President Xi Jinping will also stay away. The premier, Li Qiang, is going in his place.


In May 2023, China and Saudi Arabia boycotted a G20 meeting on tourism, which was held in Indian-administered Kashmir, because the Kashmir region contains territory claimed by Pakistan as well as India.



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A row has also recently broken out between India and China after Beijing released a map that claims the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin plateau as Chinese territory. The US has asked China to set aside its tensions with India and play a "constructive role" at the summit.


What has the G20 achieved?

At the 2008 and 2009 leaders' summits, during the financial crisis, leaders agreed a host of measures to rescue the global economic system. But some critics argue that subsequent summits have been less constructive, often because of tensions between rival world powers.


However, one-to-one meetings between leaders have often proved constructive. Former US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) on 28 June, 2019 at the G20 Summit in Osaka


For example, at the 2019 summit in Osaka, then-US president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume talks to settle a major trade dispute.


What are the security issues at G20 summits?

G20 summits attract anti-globalisation protests.


India's government has been ramping up security measures ahead of the Delhi event. Roads have been closed around the venue, and 130,000 security officials are being deployed across the city.


ends 



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