Sitting in front of a placard that said 'Bharat', PM Modi made a significant announcement in his opening remarks, saying that African Union has become a permanent member of the G20.
As world leaders arrived at the Bharat Mandapam for the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the session by saying, "Bharat welcomes you". Amid a controversy over using 'Bharat' to refer to the country in official invitations for the summit, PM Modi was seen sitting in front of a placard that said 'Bharat' at the Bharat Mandapam today.
Making a signficant announcement in his opening remarks, PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar welcomed Azali Assoumani, Chairperson of the African Union, to officially join the bloc at G20 Summit in Delhi. The G20 gathering is expected to be renamed as G21 following the induction of the African Union.
Before starting with the proceedings, PM Modi also expressed his condolences for the people affected due to earthquake in Morocco. "The entire global community stands with people of Morocco. India welcomes all of you as the president of G20 Summit," he said.
On India hosting the G20 Summit this year, PM Modi said that it has become a symbol of 'Sabka Sath' or inclusion inside and outside of the country. Over 200 meetings have been held in more than 60 cities across the country with regards to G20. Asserting that the Ukraine war has deepened the trust deficit globally, PM Modi also appealed to world leaders to turn this trust deficit to confidence in each other.
"The 21st century is an important time to show the world a new direction. New challenges seek new solutions from us and that's why we should move ahead while fulfilling our responsibilities with a human-centric approach," said PM Modi.
Before beginning the first session, PM Modi offered to make African Union a permanent G20 member, and expressed confidence that all members would agree to the proposal. "With support from all of you, I invite African Union to join G20," PM Modi said amid thunderous applause by world leaders at Summit.
Meanwhile, delegates from the world's most powerful countries have reached a compromise on language to describe the war in Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the discussions said, according to a report by Reuters. While more details were immediately not available, the communique could be similar to the language in the communique issued in Indonesia at the 2022 summit, which noted that while most nations condemned Russia for the invasion, there were also divergent views, the report said.