Leaders, limousines, and langur monkey impersonators: New Delhi primed for G20 pow-wow
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LEADERS of the world’s biggest economies are gathering in New Delhi for this year’s Group of 20 (G20) Summit, which takes place on Saturday (Sep 9) and Sunday. Here’s what you need to know about the mega-event that’s being hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What is the G20? The G20 was founded in 1999, shortly after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. It was positioned as an informal forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss international economic cooperation and financial stability. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, it evolved into an annual high-level meeting of government leaders.
Who are the members? There are 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US – and the European Union.
Together, they represent about 85 per cent of global gross domestic product, more than 75 per cent of international trade and roughly two-thirds of the world’s population.
Who else attends? The host nation typically invites several non-members to take part. In the past years, these include the likes of Spain (a permanent guest) and countries that chair regional blocs such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the African Union.
This year, however, Spain’s caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will miss the summit after he tested positive for Covid-19. Taking his place will be Economy Minister Nadia Calvino and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
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Among the others on India’s invite list are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in New Delhi from Friday to Sunday where he will participate in the summit’s discussions and have bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines.
India has also invited the chiefs of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Health Organisation, the Asian Development Bank, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and the International Solar Alliance.
Who are the biggest no-shows this year? China announced earlier this week that Premier Li Qiang will lead Beijing’s delegation in India, which all but confirmed that President Xi Jinping won’t be attending.
Russia has said that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the summit in place of President Vladimir Putin, with the Kremlin saying that the Russian leader has a “busy schedule”.
What’s on the Delhi agenda? This year’s summit takes place at a time when many countries big and small continue to grapple with high inflation and economic headwinds, as they recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
India has adopted the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (which means one earth, one family, one future) for its presidency. India seeks to use its presidency to promote inclusive growth and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The leaders are likely to discuss joint efforts to deal with global issues, such as how to cope with the impact of the Russia-led war in Ukraine, the clean energy transition and the challenges of climate change.
During its presidency, India has put forth and championed issues central to the Global South, which refers to various countries that are generally less economically developed, and lie largely in the southern hemisphere in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Modi wants to position India as the “voice of the Global South”.
What are India’s summit preparations like? With so many VIPs in town, the government has strengthened security measures, deploying about 130,000 security officers, a squad of explosive detection dogs, and a fleet of bulletproof limousines to ferry the leaders around New Delhi.
The police has declared a no-fly zone, prohibiting objects such as hot air balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles and paragliders over the national capital territory.
The city has also been given a facelift with buildings getting a fresh coat of paint, and rows of flowers, foliage and fountains adorning the busy roads.
The government also wants to ensure that there is no monkey business over the weekend. By that, it means dealing with New Delhi’s sizeable rhesus macaque population – long a menace in many areas – and ensure they don’t cause any harm to the public.
Delhi’s city council has even gone so far as to place life-size cutouts of langurs in various parts of the city to prevent the smaller rhesus monkeys from creating mischief.
The council has also hired professional langur impersonators – or monkey men – to mimic the animal’s hoots and scare off the smaller simians. One man will be deployed at each of the hotels where delegates are staying, as well as in places where monkey sightings have been reported.
How is the G20 presidency decided? The presidency rotates annually among its members and is selected from one of the bloc’s five designated groups.
Group 1: Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the US
Group 2: India, Russia, South Africa, Turkey
Group 3: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico
Group 4: France, Germany, Italy, the UK
Group 5: China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
Who are the next G20 hosts?
Brazil will take over the presidency in 2024, followed by South Africa in 2025.
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