G20 Summit: PM Modi to hold bilateral with French prez, UK PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to hold several bilateral meetings, these include those with UK PM Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron. These meetings will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. PM Modi will be in Bali from November 14 to 16. He will not only attend the mega summit but also address members of the Indian diaspora.

His meeting with UK PM will be the first in-person meetbetween the two leaders.

Sunak, Britain's first Indian-origin PM, had spoken to PM Modi after taking charge last month. Early finalisation of India-UK Free trade agreement (FTA) was discussed during this conversation.

PM Modi's meet with French President Macron will provide an occasion to reaffirm the close partnership New Delhi and Paris have. France has recentlyissued its National Strategic Review 2022 in which it has emphasised deeper cooperation with New Delhi. The PM will also hold talks with the Suriname president & with host-- Indonesia's President Joko widodo.

The 17th edition of the G20 summit takes place from November 15 to 16. The summit will see world leaders gathering to chalk out solution for the current global crisis. US President Joe Biden will also be in Bali which is also know as "Island of the Gods".

Biden's meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday will be closely watched for any breakthrough in ties as the world's number one & number two economies head for what experts are calling a new cold war.

For India, this year's summit holds special significance since it will be handed the presidency of the mega grouping. Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 presidency with much fanfare. The logo, which has the colors of Indian national flag juxtaposes planet Earth with the lotus, India’s national flower.

But the worries over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, a world recovering from Covid pandemic are unlikely to go away very soon. But India sounds hopeful as PM at the time of the launch said, "India's G20 presidency is coming at a time of crisis and chaos in the world. World is going through after-effects of disruptive, once in a century pandemic..", adding, "Symbol of lotus is representation of hope in this times.."

India will host G20 sumit next year for the first time since 2008. Under Indian presidency, two hundred G20 meetings will take place across the country beginning December of this year. The first meeting will be the Sherpa meeting in Udaipur in the first week of December.

G20 doesn't have a secretariat but it's the president of the grouping who decides the agenda. India already has set up a G20 Secretariat under the Ministry of External Affairs. It has over 40 officials. The secretariat is headed by India's Sherpa Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla and G20 special operations lead Muktesh Pardeshi.

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE