G20 foreign ministers’ meet: Who is coming? What’s the agenda? Why it is important?

The G20 foreign ministers are all set to meet in New Delhi this week. The conference, which will be held on 1-2 March, comes just days after a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru. India assumed the Presidency of the G20 on 1 December. But what do we know about the meet of G20 foreign ministers? Let’s take a closer look: Who is coming? Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, China’s Qin Gang, and British foreign minister James Cleverly are the big names expected to attend. The G20 bloc includes the wealthy G7 democracies, as well as Russia, China, India, Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia among other countries. Lavrov had in July stormed out of a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali after the West condemned the Ukraine war. But that’s not all. Representatives of 40 countries, including non-G20 members invited by India, and multilateral organisations will also be in attendance. So, what’s on the agenda? As per Moneycontrol, the major issues are food and energy prices, increasing debt and soft economic recovery post-lockdown.

However, the Ukraine war is set to hang over the event like a black cloud.

Still, New Delhi is hoping that important issues such as climate change and Third World Debt get their just due. A foreign ministry official told Reuters New Delhi wants to steer the focus of this week’s meeting to issues like climate change and the debt of developing countries. India does not want Ukraine to dominate the event, but it will be top of the agenda, said the official. He however added it was New Delhi’s “intention to continue playing the voice of the Global South and raising issues pertinent to the region”. A meeting of foreign ministers of the Quad countries – the United States, India, Australia and Japan – is also scheduled to be held on the sidelines. The foreign ministers’ meeting will also be watched for how tensions between Washington and Beijing play out, including over the Ukraine war. The Bengaluru meet of G20 finance ministers saw friction over condemning Russia for the war and a failure to reach a consensus on a joint statement. The meeting also saw its share of drama with Russian officials claiming they were chided over the Ukraine conflict by counterparts from Germany and Canada. [caption id=“attachment_12211212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Ukraine war will hang over the G20 foreign ministers’ meet. AP[/caption] “We know who you are, where you live and where to find you and we won’t forget you are personally responsible for the conflict in Ukraine,” Russian officials claim they were told as per New Indian Express – which was denied by their German counterparts. “When the West talks of peace, they should be a little more responsible in the way they speak with others. This way of speaking, which sounds like a threat, in such a high-profile event isn’t what we or anyone expected,” Russian officials were quoted as saying by the newspaper.

In the end, a summary document was issued – which both China and Russia neglected to sign.

Earlier on Monday, China accused the United States of “endangering” peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance military plane flew through the sensitive waterway. US-China ties have been strained this month after the US military shot down what it says was a Chinese spy balloon that had drifted over the United States. China says the balloon was a civilian research vessel that was accidentally blown off course, calling the US response an over-reaction. The row prompted Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has said that the US handling of the balloon incident had been “unimaginable” and “hysterical”. The outcome was similar to a G20 summit meeting in Bali last November when host Indonesia also issued a final declaration acknowledging differences. Why is this meeting important? Because New Delhi has sought to walk a delicate neutral line on the Russia-Ukraine war. While Modi has told Russian president Vladimir Putin that it was not a time for war, India has refused to blame Moscow for the conflict, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil. The differences over the conflict will be played out again at this week’s meeting, said Anil Wadhwa, a former Indian diplomat and distinguished fellow at New Delhi’s Vivekananda International Foundation. “It is unlikely that G20 foreign ministers can agree on common language suggesting ways and mechanisms to deal with the situation in Ukraine,” he said.

“The reasons are many but the most important issue is that the situation in Ukraine has become extremely fluid.”

Meanwhile, Ambassador of European Union Ugo Astuto on Thursday said Europe understands India’s position in continuing with procurement of crude oil from Russia and it appreciates New Delhi’s overall stand on the Ukraine conflict. Astuto also said it is not a ”business as usual situation” and the crisis will have an impact on the proceedings of the grouping. At the same time, the envoy asserted that the European Union trusts the Indian presidency of G20 to make the proceedings productive in that respect. In an exclusive interview to PTI, the ambassador of the 27-nation European Union said the Indian voice on the conflict is an influential one and that there is appreciation in Europe of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that it is not time for war. “When it comes to G20, inevitably we are not in a business-as-usual situation and this will have an impact on G20. But we trust the Indian presidency to make the proceedings of G20 productive in that respect. We will support the Indian presidency as much as we can,” he said. Europe has been solidly backing Ukraine in the face of the war that according to a UN estimate left over 7,000 civilians dead and thousands of others injured. Astuto said there is an understanding in Europe about India’s continuing procurement of crude oil from Russia. “I think we all in Europe understand and respect the constraints of India when it comes to procurement of energy for its people,” he said, adding the G7 price cap on Russian crude is working for many countries including India. The G7 price cap that came into effect in December stops countries from paying more than $60 a barrel to Russia for oil procurement with an aim to stop Moscow profiting from its oil exports. “It is working for all the countries that need to get supplies from the world market. As opposed to the past when we have seen dramatic increase in oil prices, today the prices are down to the pre-crisis level. And it is not by chance,” he said. The ambassador described India’s voice on the crisis as ”influential”.” The Indian voice is a very influential voice. We have much appreciated the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the fact that it is not the time for war and we have seen India trying to exert its influence on a number of occasion including when the moment came to arrange some sort of an agreement to have grains exported from Ukraine through the Black Sea,” he said. The grain agreement was signed following months of negotiations to primarily facilitate the export of around 20 million tonnes of wheat, maize and other grains from Ukraine. Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia blocked maritime access to the Ukrainian ports that resulted in a total halt in the export of millions of tons of grains from that country triggering a global food crisis. “I think the position of India is important and well appreciated. What we asked all partners of the international community is to come together for the defence of the UN charter,” Astuto said. He also pointed out about India extending humanitarian aid to Ukraine on several occasions. [caption id=“attachment_12202122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian president Vladimir Putin that the ’era of war’ is over. Reuters[/caption] “So we have already seen India remaining active and rightly so as India is an influential voice,” Astuto said. He said India’s G20 presidency has presented a very ambitious programme and some of the points on the topical issues are very close to consensus. Astuto cited climate change, digital transition, and ways to achieve the sustainable development goals as major areas of deliberations at the G20. “It’s a fact that we need to inject further momentum into the global pursuit of sustainable development goals if we want to respect our target of 2030. We will be happy to cooperate with the Indian presidency of G20. “The problem remains that we are not in a business as usual situation. The war in Europe is due to an illegal aggression and this will have an impact also on the proceedings of the G20. We are ready to help the Presidency, but we must also recognise the effect on the ground,” he said. Astuto said everybody in the West is supporting Ukraine ”very solidly”.”It is further evidence of the fact that the US and its allies NATO, the European Union and Europe are all with Ukraine,” he said. “We understand that for Ukraine, it is an existential fight. If the Russians stop fighting, the war is over and Russia will remain a major power in Europe. If Ukranians stop fighting, the very existence of Ukraine as an independent sovereign country is in jeopardy,” he said. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .