India, as the current G20 presidency, will host the summit of the grouping in September in Delhi. With speculations arising out of the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister’s suggestion on extending an invite to her President for the G20 Summit, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi clarified the situation in a press conference.
Bagchi referred to remarks made by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, listing the countries invited for the G20, which includes the G20 members and nine guest countries participating at the level of Foreign Ministers, but no changes or additions were made to the list. The list includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, US, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.
While India was non-committal to the suggestion of inviting the Ukrainian President, the invitation list is clear and the speculations were put to rest by Bagchi's statement. This year's G20 Summit will focus on recovering from the pandemic, strengthening global economic resilience, and fostering sustainable and inclusive growth. As the host nation, India has an important role to play in shaping the agenda and outcome of the summit.
