Annual G20 Summit opens in Indonesia’s Bali province

Bali: The annual G20 Summit opened here on Tuesday with world leaders set to discuss over the next two days challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently topped by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the summit venue by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, ahead of the formal opening of the summit.

“The Summit will witness extensive deliberations on ways to overcome important global challenges. It will also focus on ways to further sustainable development across our planet,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

He also briefly interacted with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Recover Together, Recover Stronger. Indonesian President @jokowi welcomes PM @narendramodi for the G20 Bali Summit. Detailed deliberations on contemporary global challenges including food & energy security and health are on the @g20org Summit agenda today,” Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.

In his remarks at the G2 Summit that began here on Tuesday, Indonesian President Widodo asked world leaders to follow the UN charter and called for an end to “the war”, a reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He said all leaders have a responsibility towards the people of the world. Being responsible meant following the UN charter “consistently”, he said.