G20 Summit 2022: PM Modi met key leaders, addressed Indian diaspora in Bali on Day 1 | A sneak peek

G20 Summit 2022: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had informal interactions with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping and several other global leaders on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali. 

He also exchanged views on a range of issues.

Prime Minister Modi also met UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, their first face-to-face interaction since he assumed power last month.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, PM Modi is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with Sunak and Macron, apart from holding a meeting with the host country’s president Joko Widodo.

PM Modi’s address to the G20 Summit

In an address at the G20 Summit in Bali, Modi said that climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, the developments in Ukraine and the global problems associated with it have caused havoc in the world and rued that the global supply chains are in “ruins”.

Referring to India’s upcoming G-20 presidency, Modi said he was confident when the leaders of the grouping meet in the “holy land of Buddha and Gandhi, we will all agree to convey a strong message of peace to the world.”

Modi affirmed that G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation and underlined the importance of the G20 continuing to demonstrate its capacity to bring together major economies, to overcome global challenges, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

G20 is working together to restore sustainable and inclusive growth in our economies and beyond, tackle the ongoing climate, energy, and food crises, strengthen global health architecture and promote technological transformation, the release said.

Modi affirmed that India would give voice to other developing countries during its Presidency, and emphasised G-20’s role in assisting vulnerable countries; supporting inclusive development, strengthening economic security and global supply chains; developing improved and innovative financing models for multilateral financial institutions; providing solutions to challenges like climate change, pandemics, economic fragility, reducing poverty and achieving SDGs; and leveraging public and private financing to close the infrastructure gap, it said.

Modi also thanked President Widodo and President Biden for their commitment to supporting G-20’s work under India’s Presidency, the release added.

India will assume G20 Presidency for one year, beginning December 1, 2022.

The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).

G20 Summit 2022: What PM Modi told Indian diaspora in Bali 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that there is a “huge difference” between pre- and post-2014 India, saying the country is now moving ahead at an “unprecedented speed and scale” as he showcased the achievements of his term in power to the Indian diaspora in Indonesia.

Modi took time off the G20 Summit in Bali’s Nusa Dua to travel a few kilometres away to a hotel ballroom in Sunur, where members of the Indian community welcomed him with chants of “Modi, Modi.”

Addressing the Indian diaspora, Prime Minister Modi said India is a ray of hope for the world in the 21st century.

He highlighted India’s growth story, its achievements and tremendous strides that India is making in various fields such as – digital technology, finance, health, telecom and space.

He also mentioned that India’s roadmap for development includes the political and economic aspirations of the world and the vision of self-reliant India embodies the spirit of global good.

The prime minister asserted that India now thinks big and aims higher.

As the gathering clapped, he said, “The huge difference between pre- and post- 2014 India is that of speed and scale.”

“Today, India is moving ahead at an unprecedented speed and scale,” he said, adding that India now builds the biggest statues, the biggest stadiums.

“We don’t dream small anymore. Since 2014, we have opened more than 320 million bank accounts. More than the population of USA,” he said.

“Today, India is the fastest growing large economy in the world,” Modi said amid a huge round of applause.

He also listed out the areas in which India is now world’s “number one” – including smartphone data consumption, IT outsourcing and manufacture of certain drugs and vaccines.

Modi said Indonesia was fortunate to attain independence two years before India and there is a lot that India can learn from Indonesia.

However, at the same time, he said, in its 75-year-old long development journey, there is a lot that India can also give to Indonesia.

“The talent, technology, innovation and industry of India have made an identity for themselves in the world. Several big companies of the world today have an Indian-origin CEO,” Modi said.

Modi also ticked off several other boxes for the audience – including the length of new roads built in the last few years, the houses for the poor and the Covid vaccine doses administered so far. And he asked his audience if they didn’t feel proud of these achievements.

He spoke about the positive trajectory of India-Indonesia relationship. He stressed on the cultural links between Indonesia – particularly Bali – and India and reminded his audience that people in Odisha’s Cuttack are right now celebrating a festival called “Bali Jatra.”

He also made a passing reference to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“There would hardly be anyone in Bali who doesn’t wish to visit Ayodhya or Dwarka in their lifetime,” he added, while elaborating on the affinity he felt with Indonesia and the island of Bali.

He mentioned the Sindhis, the Tamils and the Bohras among the communities from India whose members now live and work in Indonesia, making it their “karmabhoomi”.

He talked about cultural links of “thousands of years” between India and Indonesia, referring also to the celebration of Sankranti, and the statues of Lord Ganesh, often seen at public places in Indonesia.

Rooted to its heritage, India aimed to touch the skies, he said. The country also wanted to extend a helping hand to the rest of the world.

Modi recalled a previous visit to Indonesia when he flew kites with President Joko Widodo.

The prime minister invited the people of Indian origin to visit the country on the next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January next year.

“Don’t come alone, bring an Indonesian family along,” he told the gathering of over 800 people who had gathered from all over Indonesia.

Prime Minister Modi appreciated the community members for enhancing the stature and prestige of India abroad through hard work and dedication to their adopted motherland.

He also spoke about the crucial role played by Indian community members in its strengthening in India-Indonesia ties.

Tuesday was the first day of the two-day Group of 20 Summit.

G20 Summit 2022: PM Modi met key leaders in Bali 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had two formal meetings with other leaders on the first day of the event. 

An External Affairs Ministry statement noted two Modi meetings on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit that began in Bali on Tuesday – with US President Joe Biden and host country Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.

The ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office posted several photos online of these interactions.

The Group of 20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union.

“Multilateral summits present wonderful opportunities for leaders to exchange views on diverse issues,” the PMO tweeted, and the MEA retweeted.

Among others, it posted a picture of Modi with Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with whom the Prime Minister is “looking forward to working together in the times to come”.

Another showed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte placing a hand on Modi’s shoulder. 

The Senegalese President Macky Sall, who is also the African Union head, featured in another.

Indonesian President Widodo, who is the summit host, Modi, who will host next year’s summit, and Joe Biden were placed next to each other at the summit table.

G20 Summit 2022: PM Modi, Chinese President Xi shook hands 

In a gesture that sparked interest because of the strained bilateral relations over a border clash two years back, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands Tuesday at a side event at the G20 Summit in Bali. 

A live video feed for the media from the welcome dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo for G20 delegates showed the brief exchange between the two leaders.

There had been some speculation over a possible bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the margins of the Group of 20 Summit.

However, the agenda made known by both sides so far does not mention such a meeting.

Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, who were both attending the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Widodo, exchanged courtesies at the conclusion of the dinner, official sources said when asked about the interaction between the two leaders.

Since the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed – there has been no one-on-one meetings between the two leaders.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are important for the overall development of bilateral ties.

In September, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi came face-to-face at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbek city of Samarkand for the first time since the start of the border standoff in eastern Ladakh.

G20 Summit 2022: What PM Modi wore for the event 

Modi wore the usual kurta and pajama/churidar, paired with a check waistcoat at the summit sessions.

In the evening, for the welcome dinner at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park, almost all leaders – Modi included – wore Batik shirts and brown trousers.

Black limousines ferried them, one leader at a time, to the venue. 

They ate as performers put on a show.

(With inputs from PTI)

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