(Source: ECI/ABP News/ABP Majha)
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Background
The foreign ministers of the world's largest industrialized and developing nations will discuss important global issues at the meeting in Delhi on Thursday. Many diplomats worry that the meeting could be contentious because it takes place as tensions between the US-led West and the Russia-China coalition over the Ukraine conflict are getting worse.
At the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Qin Gang of China, James Cleverly of the UK, and Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, will be in the same room as several of their counterparts to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and other topics.
Jaishankar hosted a welcome reception for the G20 foreign ministers' delegations on Wednesday evening. Foreign ministers from a number of nations attended the reception, but Blinken, China's Qin, Germany's Annalena Baerbock, and France's Catherine Colonna were not present because they had not yet arrived in Delhi.
Due to the hardening of their respective positions on the Ukraine conflict by the Russia-China group and the West, there have been concerns that there won't be a consensus on a joint communiqué at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
Kwatra said that the foreign ministers would clearly discuss the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine ahead of Thursday's crucial G20 meeting in the national capital. He also said that the impact of the conflict on the world's food, energy, and fertiliser security is a major focus for the Indian presidency.
"I don't think it would be really correct for me to prejudge the outcome of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. I think we should let the plenipotentiaries of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting decide that on their own," he said quoted PTI.
"But we are very clear that the foreign ministers should focus on all the priorities that are currently very relevant in the global context," he said.
The main discussions will take place on Thursday, despite the fact that India hosted the G20 foreign ministers and other guests at the gala reception on Wednesday evening.
According to Kwatra's statement, "Given the nature and the developing situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, naturally that would be an important point of discussions during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting."
In response to a question regarding Russia and China's disagreement with paragraphs three and four of the G20 Chair's Summary and Outcome Document, which was released following a meeting of the group's finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that it is up to the two countries to provide an explanation.
The paragraphs were taken from the "leaders" declaration that the G20 made at the Bali summit in November. One of the phrases said, "Today's era must not be of war."
Bagchi stated, "You need to ask them whether they no longer stand with the text from Bali."
In addition, the foreign secretary mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's September statement in Samarkand that "this is not an era of war."
Kwatra also pointed out that Modi had made it clear in his conversations with the leaders of the world, including those of Russia and Ukraine, that dialogue and diplomacy were the best way to end the conflict.
In addition, the foreign secretary recalled India's role in the Bali declaration.
Kwatra stated, "What would foreign ministers discuss tomorrow, what understanding they would arrive at on this subject, whether that understanding would be to the exclusion of the other agenda items etc are the issues for the foreign ministers to decide."
Forty delegations, according to the foreign secretary, will attend the meeting, including those from G20 nations, guest nations, and international organisations.
Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates make up the delegations from the guest nations.
Kwatra stated, "Surely, it will be one of the largest gathering of foreign ministers hosted by any G20 presidency."
Additionally, the foreign ministers are likely to discuss ways to deal with rising food, fuel, and fertilizer costs, decreasing demand for goods and services, and falling economic growth.
However, it is anticipated that the conflict in Ukraine will be the major flashpoint between the West and Russia and China.
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Just In — Russian Foreign Minister #SergeyLavrov and Foreign Minister of China #QinGang met on the margins of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in New Delhi. #RussiaChina pic.twitter.com/EJerT7uIyi
— Nayanima Basu (@NayanimaBasu) March 2, 2023
G20 Foreign Ministers Meet Live: Discussion Underway With Focus On Contemporary Issues
The G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is currently underway in the national capital. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Discussions to focus on contemporary challenges around multilateralism, food & energy security and development cooperation."
The room is currently being shared by US State Secretary Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who have come together for the first time since July 2022. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is also attending the meeting.
Delegates from Quad nations, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese deputy foreign minister Kenji Yamada are also present in the room.
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