Stage set for 2-day G-20 Foreign Ministers' meeting to begin on Wednesday evening

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – The stage is set for the G-20 Foreign Ministers' meeting, which will begin on Wednesday evening in the Indian capital of New Delhi with a gala dinner for dignitaries from member states, guest countries, and international organizations, said Indian External Affairs Ministry officials.

"The G-20 foreign ministers' meeting under India's presidency will take place tomorrow (March 2), but it will begin with a gala dinner tonight," Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The meeting, which would be the second since India assumed the G-20 presidency on Dec. 1 last year, would be presided over by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, he added.

He said 40 delegations, including G-20 countries, guest countries, and international organizations, are expected to attend the meeting, which will be one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers hosted by any G-20 presidency.

The meeting includes foreign ministers from Türkiye, Russia, China, and the US, among others.

The meeting will have two sessions.

The agenda for tomorrow's foreign ministers' meeting is broadly structured along two sub-verticals. The first is about multilateralism – food, energy, security, and development cooperation and the second is about new emerging threats – counter-terrorism, global skill mapping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction issues, Kwatra said.

In response to questions about the Ukraine-Russia war, the official said "clearly, the foreign ministers would also focus on the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine."

"Yes, given the nature and the developing situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict… naturally, that would be an important point of discussion during the meeting," he said.

The event is being held days after a meeting of the bloc's finance heads in Bengaluru, the capital of southern Karnataka state, which ended last week with disagreements over the war.

The G-20 is a strategic multilateral platform that connects the world's major developed and emerging economies, which account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and 60% of the world population.

In December last year, India commenced its year-long presidency of the G-20, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging that the south Asian nation would present "experiences, learning, and models as possible templates for others, particularly the developing world."