Absence of few leaders at G20 event not unusual: Jaishankar

New Delhi, September 6

The absence of China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit this weekend in New Delhi is not unusual and will not affect negotiations to produce a consensus communique at the meeting, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has said.

The summit is being held against the backdrop of a “very turbulent” global environment and expectations from G20 to find solutions to some of the world’s pressing problems are “very high”, he told ANI.

He downplayed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov’s statement that Moscow would block the summit’s final declaration unless it reflected Moscow’s position on Ukraine and other crises. He said countries try to maximise their negotiating positions and people should not “prejudge” the outcome.

“I am confident that every one of the G20 coming to Delhi will understand the responsibility that they bear…that the other 180 countries of the world are looking at them to set directions and that they cannot afford to fail them.” The G20 is “very much a collaborative forum” and “not the arena for power politics”, said Jaishankar.

He met Lavrov and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi separately to discuss the East Asia Summit and G20 issues. There was useful stock-taking of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, said Jaishankar in a post on ‘X’.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi, while departing for Jakarta to attend meetings around the ASEAN summit, said the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN had injected new dynamism to the group’s ties with New Delhi.

PM Modi said he looked forward to discussing the future contours of India’s partnership with ASEAN countries during his meetings with the leaders of the grouping.

Committed to success of summit, says Russia

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says Moscow is committed to making the Delhi summit a success and ensuring that the Indian G20 presidency is effective.