G20 Summit 2023 | Which leaders are attending, and what is on their agenda?

India’s presidency of the group of twenty (G20) comes to a culmination with the Summit in Delhi on September 9-10 with a display of its soft power

The final event in India’s year of G20 Presidency is the New Delhi Summit scheduled to be held on September 9-10 at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam (ITPO) complex — a culmination of all G20 processes and meeting held throughout the year. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the group comprising of leaders of eighteen countries will adopt the Leaders’ Declaration stating their commitment to the priorities agreed upon in the ministerial and working group meetings.

In a show of diplomatic power, India has invited nine other state leaders apart from the G20 member states. These include Asian leaders like Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh), Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (Mauritius), Sultan Haitham bin Tarik (Oman), Lee Hsein Loong (Singapore), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (United Arab Emirates), European leaders like Pedro Sanchez (Spain), Mark Rutte (Netherlands) and African leaders like Abdul Fatah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (Egypt) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria).

New organisational invitees include heads of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). These guest organisations are in addition to the regular ones: United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World bank (WB), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Financial Stability board (FSB) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Heads of regional organisations like African Union (AU), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) have also been invited.

United States: Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden arrived on Friday in New Delhi and will immediately hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Modi at his residence (7 Lok Kalyan Marg). The focus of the bilateral talk will likely be progress on the joint manufacture of jet engines, civil nuclear liability and trade agreements, and cooperation on global issues like climate change, technology, clean energy. The leaders are also likely to discuss India-China relations, the situation along Line of Actual Control (LAC), and India’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum’s ‘Trade’ pillar. Moreover, as announced, Mr. Modi plans to host the next QUAD summit in India in 2024 and will discuss the same with Mr. Biden.

During the summit on September 9-10, Mr. Biden will focus on tackling climate change, reshaping multilateral development banks like World Bank and IMF, social and economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, welcoming the African Union, commending Mr. Modi’s G20 leadership and affirming faith in the group by hosting the forum in 2026. Consensus on a G20 statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is difficult, but India remains hopeful of a joint declaration.

United Kingdom: Rishi Sunak