G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting To Take Place In Delhi On March 1-2

Under India’s presidency of the G20 Summit of 2023, the upcoming Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) is drawing attention from all corners. Set to be held on March 1 and 2, 2023, the meeting will have in attendance Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly, and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. A total of 40 countries will be represented at the meeting, including non-G20 members invited by India, and multilateral organisations.

India intends to focus on broad issues at the international meeting with the agenda ranging from topics like multilateralism and the need for reforms, food and energy security and development cooperation to counter terrorism and new and emerging threats. It will also include the rising need for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Major global challenges like the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change as well as sustainable development goals, gender equality and women empowerment will also be discussed. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government aim to focus on issues like climate change and the debt of developing countries, an Indian government official said, Reuters reported. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chouhan among others are scheduled to put forth India’s perspective on international challenges and matters. 

The Foreign Ministers Meeting is set to be a major event with the backdrop of the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine War, India’s neutral stance on the issue and growing tensions between the US and China. With all eyes on the presidential nation, India is expected to maintain its diplomatic stand on the war and seek to maintain peace between the US and China on the spy balloon row.

In the presence of several international officials, the External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with a number of foreign ministers including Antony Blinken, and Sergei Lavrov. A meeting of the Quad countries – the United States, Australia, India, and Japan – is scheduled to be held on the side.

Many of the G20 attendees are expected to stay in Delhi for the inaugural event of the Raisina Dialogues conference to be held on March 3-4. The event is hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and New Delhi-based think tank, Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Foreign Ministers from other countries including Latvia, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic are awaited to arrive in India soon.

Started in 1999, the Group of Twenty of G20 is an annual, premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays a major role in shaping and enhancing global architecture and governance on all important international economic issues. 

India’s special invitee guest countries for the G20 summit this year are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. India is hosting G20 meetings in several cities across the country.