DELHI (NEW):
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that President Xi Jinping’s absence from this week’s G20 summit in New Delhi was not unprecedented and would not derail efforts to reach a consensus communique.
He told the ANI news agency that expectations for the G20 meeting on September 9-10 are “very high” due to the “very turbulent” global climate. The conference is comprised of the leaders of the world’s richest countries.
In the interview that aired on Wednesday, Jaishankar stated that the Sherpas, or nation representatives, of the G20 members are now working to develop a consensus and arrive at a declaration at the summit in New Delhi.
In addition, Jaishankar downplayed a threat from his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov, who will be representing Moscow at the summit in President Putin’s stead, that Russia will block the meeting’s final conclusion unless it reflects Moscow’s views on the Ukraine and other problems.
He argued that people shouldn’t “prejudge” the outcome of negotiations because countries always aim to enhance their own positions.
“I am confident that each and every one of the G20 coming to Delhi will understand the responsibility that they bear…that the other 180 countries around the world are looking to them to set directions and that they cannot afford to fail them.”
According to ANI, in which Reuters holds a minority share, the G20 is “very much a collaborative forum” and “not the arena for power politics.”
“Today, the world expects the G20 to produce, and produce in meeting the challenges of the world,” the report states.
Widening Gaps
The 20 largest economies in the world make up the G20, but the club is currently fractured over the conflict in Ukraine.
Analysts and officials have indicated that it will be difficult to come to a consensus Leaders Declaration at the summit due to the absence of Putin and Xi and disagreements over the war.
Jaishankar claimed that Xi’s absence from the summit was not unprecedented and had nothing to do with India.
Analysts said Xi’s decision to skip the summit was a new setback to relations between the Asian giants, which have been icy since a deadly military confrontation on their Himalayan boundary in June 2020.
Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University, speculated that Xi’s absence could be a signal of his narrative of “East is rising, and the West is falling,” as well as a display of unity with Putin.
Premier Li Qiang will be representing China at the meeting, and as Jaishankar pointed out, “whoever is representing a country is obviously reflecting that country’s position.”
Xi and US Vice President Joe Biden, who has already confirmed his attendance, were expected to meet at the summit.
According to a White House statement released on Tuesday, Vice President Biden will use the meeting to discuss revamping the World Bank and encourage other multilateral development institutions to increase lending for climate change and infrastructure projects.
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, has expressed interest in talking about digital challenges and food security. India has stated that they are in talks with other countries to create a global framework to govern crypto assets.
