India Invites G20 Leaders For Virtual Meet Next Month

India has sent invitations to leaders of the G20 member nations for a virtual summit of the grouping next month. At the end of the G20 summit in New Delhi last month, India had announced that it will hold a virtual meet of the leaders before the end of its presidency of the grouping.

"Yes, invitations have been extended. I am not sure whether the date (of the summit) is made public. The countries know the date. There is a fixed date in November that we have," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing in reply to a question.

"We look forward to participation by as many leaders as they can. It's a virtual event. The participation is dependent on the invitee," he said.

"But we do hope that there is a high degree of participation at this summit," he added.

The G20 joint declaration unveiled on September 9 was seen as a significant diplomatic victory for India as it pulled off a breakthrough on the contentious Ukraine conflict amid apprehensions that the summit may not be able to release the document in view of sharp differences on the matter.

As the G20 president, India has been focusing on issues like inclusive growth, digital innovation, climate resilience, and equitable global health access with an aim to benefit the Global South or the developing countries.

The G20 member countries represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.   The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).

The African Union was inducted as the new member of the G20 at the New Delhi summit. 

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