New Delhi: As the G20 summit inches closer, all eyes are on the world leaders who will be attending the summit and who opted out of the summit given geopolitical reasons and those who have still not confirmed it.
The G20 summit will see leaders from the group of 20 major economies of the world gathering under one platform to discuss and find solutions to several key global issues including digital transformation, climate financing, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and food security among others.
India is hosting the G20 presidency at a very crucial time when the whole world is staring at geopolitical uncertainties and global issues that need special attention rising from the Ukraine conflict to Climate Change or the Afghanistan issue for that matter.
The world leaders who will be attending the event in New Delhi are:
US President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden will travel to India on September 7 to attend the G20 Summit. He will also hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the two-day Summit, the White House has announced. On Saturday and Sunday, President Biden will participate in the G20 Summit where he and other G20 partners will discuss a range of issues, the economic and social impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang
Amid much speculation and discussion, Li Qiang, the Chinese Premier will lead the country's delegation at the G20 Summit instead of Chinese Prez Xi Jinping. It was also confirmed that China's President Xi Jinping won't attend this year's meeting in Delhi. This will be the first time that a Chinese president has missed a G20 leaders' summit since the first edition was held in 2008.
India and China relations are currently at a time low since the Galwan Valley clash at LAC in May 2020. Skipping of G20 by China's President is seen as an attempt by China to belittle India on the world stage.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
British Prime Minister will attend the G20 Summit, making his first official visit to India after taking charge.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed his in-person attendance at the G20 summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. The Australian PM's visit to India will be part of a three-nation tour in which he will also be visiting Indonesia and the Philippines.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be traveling to Indonesia to participate in the ASEAN summit before arriving in New Delhi for the G20 Summit on Saturday and Sunday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has confirmed attendance at the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi. Ahead of his visit to India, Scholz emphasized that the G20 summit remains important despite the absence of the heads of the states of Russia and China.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi. He is likely to emphasize his country's criticism of Russia over the Ukraine war.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
Yoon Suk Yeol has confirmed his presence at the G20 summit in Delhi. He is likely to highlight North Korea's ever-escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats in front of the global leaders.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron will attend the G20 summit slated for September 9 and 10. He is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussing a range of issues.
The G20 Summit will enable France's Head of State to continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent, to combat the risks of fragmentation of the world. It will also be an opportunity to make progress in implementing joint responses to the major global challenges that can only be tackled effectively through multilateral action: peace and stability, poverty alleviation, protection of climate and our planet, food security, and digital regulation.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
Mohammed Bin Salman is likely to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi but an official confirmation is still awaited. In fact, according to sources, he will visit New Delhi after the summit most likely on 11th September.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed full support for India's G20 presidency and will attend it.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi. Bangladesh is one of the countries invited by India to participate as an observer.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
Tayyip Erdogan is set to visit Delhi for the G20 summit where he will discuss a series of issues including climate change.
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez
Alberto Fernandez has confirmed his attendance at the G20 summit in New Delhi.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu is set to attend the G20 summit to promote foreign investment in the country and mobilize global capital for infrastructural development.
The leaders who are not going to attend the summit are:
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the G20 summit given geopolitical reasons. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for President Putin accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, something the Kremlin strongly denies. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will represent the country at the G20 summit in New Delhi
European Union Leaders
President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and President of the European Council, Charles Michel are yet to confirm their attendance at the G20 summit.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is likely to skip the G20 summit this year.
The leaders who haven't confirmed their presence are:
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's attendance at the G20 summit is uncertain and has no confirmation yet.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo
Another G20 leader who has not confirmed their presence at the summit is Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
According to govt sources, the level of attendance at global summits varies from year to year. From time to time, many leaders skip summits for their reasons. The most glaring example here is the 2021 G20 Summit in Italy, where there was no major geopolitical or health reason for leaders to skip it, but the circumstances happened in such a way that six countries attended below Head of State(HOS)/ Head of Government (HOG )level.
From 2008, there have been 16 physical summits of the G20, and one virtual summit (Saudi Arabia, 2020). There were two summits each in 2009 and 2010. Out of these 16 physical summits, except the first three summits in 2008 and 2009, there has never been a single occasion from 2010 till now when every country has attended the at HOS/HOG level.
"Six times there was one country below HOS/HOG: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017. Five times there were two countries below HOS/HOG: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019", sources said. One time there were three countries below HOS/HOG: 2022 and one time there were six countries below HOS/HOG: 2021.
