Rajghat visit, ‘One Future’ session, bilaterals: What to expect from G20 Summit Day 2

India’s presidency has been dubbed as the “most ambitious” in the history of G20. Day 1 of the leaders’ summit in New Delhi was proof. Historic pacts were signed and the African Union (AU) is now the permanent member of the bloc. Day 2 of the G20 Summit is expected to be as promising.

Here’s a look at how the world’s most powerful leaders are spending their Sunday – mostly working.

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Paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

The day started with world leaders and heads of delegations arriving at Rajghat in their motorcades. Among the first to arrive were the President of Asian Development Bank Masatsugu Asakawa, and the Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was there to receive the leaders.

#WATCH | G 20 in India | Deputy Prime Minister of Oman Asaad bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said arrives at Delhi’s Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and lay a wreath. pic.twitter.com/HcCCdHOyYs

— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2023

PM Modi, US president Joe Biden, Sunak, Australian PM Anthony Albanese, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and other heads of state and government and leaders of international organisations paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and laid a wreath. This was followed by a ‘live’ performance of devotional songs.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak visited the Akshardham Temple in Delhi with his wife Akshata Murty. This is his first official visit to India since becoming Britain’s PM. Sunak then headed to Rajghat.

Heading to Bharat Mandapam, tree-planting ceremony

The leaders then head to the leaders’ lounge at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the G20 Summit in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan at 9:20 am. They are expected to arrive at 9:40 am

Then there is a tree-planting ceremony at Bharat Mandapam’s South Plaza from 10:15 am to 10:30 am.

Third session: One Future

The third session of the summit is called “One Future”. It is part of India’s theme for the G20 “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. In Sanskrit, it means “The World Is One Family” and is inspired by the Maha Upanishad, a prehistoric Sanskrit literature.

During this session discussions, especially on climate change, will continue.

This will be followed by the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, a big moment for India. After months of work and lots of negotiation, the leaders arrived at a joint communique on Saturday.

The big sticking point was the Russia-Ukraine war, which was addressed in seven paragraphs. This was more elaborate than the Bali Declaration, which had only two paragraphs, reports The Indian Express.

Handover to Brazil

After the closing ceremony, India will officially hand over the G20 Presidency to Brazil.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost Managing Editor Palki Sharma, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, “The Delhi Declaration is a win for the organisers- India. The G20 arrangements in New Delhi are very good, we will take lessons and implement in Brazil next year.”

Media address

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will address the media at 2 pm Sunday, after the conclusion of all scheduled discussions.

Bilateral with Macron, Trudeau 

French president Emmanuel Macron arrived on Saturday in New Delhi for the Summit. He will have a bilateral meeting with PM Modi, likely in the form of a lunch on 10 September at the end of the G20 Summit.

The Embassy of France in India said during his two-day visit to New Delhi, the French president will have bilateral meetings with other world leaders, particularly with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indonesian president Joko Widodo, and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

According to the France embassy, before his departure, Macron is likely to hold a press conference at the venue on Sunday afternoon.

PM Modi will also hold a bilateral with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. They are likely to discuss the issue of foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs.

Ahead of travelling to India, Trudeau said, “As always, we will emphasise how important the rule of law is" while speaking with CBC News in Singapore. When asked by reporters about the foreign interference issue flagged by India on multiple occasions, Trudeau said, “It is incredibly important that we continue to protect Canadians from any types of interference.”

With inputs from agencies