By – Prakarsh Kastwar
While several leaders have asked for bilateral meetings with India, PM Modi as the host is constrained by the visitors’ travel plans and is short on time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have bilateral discussions with US President Joe Biden on Friday evening and with French President Emmanuel Macron following the conclusion of the high-level engagement on Sunday due to time constraints and the need to organize the G-20 meeting.
It is known that PM Modi intends to host supper and lunch for his two close friends, but the program’s timing depends on President Biden’s expected arrival on Friday and President Macron’s planned departure for Dhaka on Sunday following the G-20 summit. While President Macron is likely to have lunch with PM Modi on Sunday afternoon along with bilateral talks, President Biden will be offered dinner on Friday, but it will depend on jet lag.
Since the two haven’t had a real bilateral dialogue for a while, PM Modi will reportedly also have plans to meet with Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh.
While the political discussion at the G-20 summit will center on the conflict in the Ukraine and its effects on the world economy, Prime Minister Modi will use the event to emphasize the global south and give the 17 sustainable development goals a higher priority because a 2021 UN report revealed that the global pandemic had a disastrous impact on them. According to the UN research, the sickness, which originated in Wuhan in China, caused the equivalent of 255 million jobs to be lost, as well as four million fatalities and between 119 and 124 million people being forced into poverty and chronic hunger.
Since Africa was the region of the global south that was most severely affected by the pandemic, PM Modi wants the G-20 to place a special emphasis on it. He also wants Africa to be permanently invited to the G-20 meeting. While the industrialized countries have yet to make financial pledges to address climate change issues, PM Modi is expected to advance knowledge of green development and green goals to safeguard the future from climate-related disasters. In this context, Prime Minister Modi will advocate millets as the solution for ensuring global food security because the crop can withstand harsh weather conditions and high temperatures.
While the global south needs financial support and technological assistance to stop using coal as a source of energy, PM Modi will advocate for a shift in global lifestyle, or what he refers to as mission LIFE, to safeguard the environment.
The development and empowerment of women will be the last but most crucial part of PM Modi’s G-20 speech because it has experienced a global reversal in the wake of the global epidemic. This will be a component of PM Modi’s inclusive agenda, which he has successfully implemented domestically through “antodhya” programs, in which no one is left behind.
Having said that, there will be last-minute political maneuvering among world leaders to reach an agreement on how to promote global economic growth and development—the true purpose of the G-20.