Representatives of the Group of 20, along with several invited countries, will meet in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. India will be hosting this forum for the first time.
The meeting will take place at the large Bharat Mandapam exhibition center. In addition, a new building, the Indian International Exhibition Centre, has been constructed for certain events.
"One earth, one family, one future" is the motto of the summit, while its main theme is "An inclusive and sustainable world". Participants will discuss current issues in global politics and economics, as well as energy transition and digitalization.
The agenda thus includes the promotion of global economic growth and the strengthening of international trade, the fight against poverty and hunger, the development of education and healthcare, digital transformation and climate change issues.
The Russian side hopes that the summit's final document will cover the issue of settlement in national currencies in detail, Dmitry Biritchevsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Economic Cooperation Department, told Sputnik.
"Our representatives are currently working [on the final document], they are already in New Delhi [...] This year, we hope that the subject of the global monetary and financial system, the question of national currencies will be addressed in detail," said the diplomat in an interview with TV BRICS, responding to the question of what Russia expects from the G20 and what it would like to see in the final document.
Possible expansion?
Particular attention should be paid to the initiative to include the African Union as a full member of the G20. Russia was one of the first to support this candidacy. Indeed, the admission of this regional union is scheduled for the New Delhi summit: the leaders' draft declaration includes this point, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.
Russia's participation
The 18th edition of the summit will bring together representatives from all regions of the world: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico from Latin America, the United States and Canada from North America, Europe will be represented by France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and European Union officials, India, China, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan for the Asian region, the Middle East will be represented by Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, South Africa will represent Africa and Australia for Oceania.
For the second year running, Russia will be represented at the summit by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In 2022, he visited Indonesia.
Media doubted on September 1 that Chinese President Xi Jinping would attend the summit, but no official information has been released by Beijing.
According to the tradition, in addition to the representatives of the permanent members, the summit will also welcome a number of guests. This year, these include the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Mauritius and Bangladesh, as well as the leaders of the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore and Nigeria.
The Ukrainian delegation has not received an invitation.