G20 summit 2023 Modi says leaders’ declaration adopted

The leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries have gathered in India’s capital, New Delhi, for the G20 summit.
Indian prime minister and G20 host Narendra Modi has said the body has reached consensus on its leaders’ declaration and announced its adoption.
Assoumani praises AU inclusion in G20
Comoros president and current AU chairman Azali Assoumani has said the bloc’s inclusinon in the G20 was a “great day for me … but also for the whole of Africa”.

The AU at full strength has 55 members but six junta-ruled nations are currently suspended. Collectively, it has a GDP of $3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.EU castigates Russia on Black Sea grain deal
The European Union has criticised Russia for pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal, calling its offer of a million tonnes of grain to African countries a “parody of generosity”.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told the G20 summit the 2022 grain accord had delivered to vulnerable countries more than 30 times the volume offered to Africa by Russia.

“And what cynicism … you did not accept this,” Michel said in comments directed at the Russian summit representative, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.Russia says joint declaration ‘balanced’
Russian negotiator Svetlana Lukash told journalists in New Delhi the joint declaration reached at the G20 summit was “balanced” and welcomed by Moscow.

The New Delhi declaration did not explicitly condemn Russia’s devastating war against Ukraine, as was the case at the G20 summit last year.

Instead, reference was only made to United Nations resolutions regarding Ukraine and, in general terms, to the need for territorial borders to be respected.

Lukash acknowledged that there had been “very difficult negotiations” over the language about Ukraine. In the end, she said, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other partners contributed to the “balanced” declaration.African leaders welcome African Union’s entry into G20
The African Union’s entry to the G20 on Saturday was welcomed by leaders across Africa who said the move would give the continent a “voice”.

“Kenya welcomes the addition of the African Union – the fastest growing continent in the world – to the G20,” Kenyan President William Ruto wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This will increase the voice of Africa, visibility, and influence on the global stage and provide a platform to advance the common interest of our people.”

Until recently, South Africa was the only African country that was part of the group.

Joint declaration condemns ‘religious hatred’
The G20 joint declaration has adopted wording calling for an end to “religious hatred”, including acts against religious symbols and holy texts.

“We also emphasise that freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion or expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to freedom of association are interdependent, inter-related and mutually reinforcing and stress the role that these rights can play in the fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief,” paragraph 78 of the declaration said.

“In this regard, we strongly deplore all acts of religious hatred against persons, as well as those of a symbolic nature without prejudice to domestic legal frameworks, including against religious symbols and holy books.”Germany praises Ukraine wording in joint declaration
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described the final wording about Ukraine in the joint declaration issued by the G20 leaders gathered in New Delhi as a success.

At a news conference, he praised the fact that the declaration emphasised the “territorial integrity” of all countries – even though the document did not explicitly condemn Russia for invading its neighbour.

Scholz said that it was nonetheless an achievement “that in the end Russia gave up its resistance to such a resolution, simply because everyone else had moved in this direction,” seemingly referring to China.G20 joint declaration on war ‘nothing to be proud of’: Ukraine
The Ukrainian foreign ministry says the joint declaration by the G20 group of countries related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “nothing to be proud of”, criticising the text for not mentioning Russia.

“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side (in the G20 meeting) would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.Beijing, Rome want to ‘deepen’ dialogue say Italian PM’s office
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Chinese Premier Li Qiang have agreed to “consolidate and deepen” dialogue between Rome and Beijing, Meloni’s office said.

The first meeting between the the two leaders on the sidelines of the G20 came amid rising speculation that Italy is preparing to withdraw from or rethink a controversial investment deal with China.

The European Union is part of a broad alliance which unveiled ambitious plans at the G20 to create a modern-day Spice Route linking Europe, the Middle East and India, which signatories hope will offer a counterbalance to lavish Chinese infrastructure spending.

Debt-ridden Italy in 2019 became the only one of the group of leading developed democracies to sign up to China’s trillion-dollar investment scheme. The agreement automatically renews in March 2024 unless Italy opts out by the end of this year.