Indian PM Modi kickstarts G20 summit

DEHLI, Sep 9: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially kickstarted the first day of the G20 summit with a welcome speech to the delegates.

Modi began his address by first expressing his condolences over the loss of lives in Morocco, where an earthquake has killed at least 296 people. He also posted on X (formerly Twitter) about the tragedy earlier today, reports BBC. 

"We pray that all injured recover at the earliest. India is ready to offer all possible assistance to Morocco in this difficult time," he wrote.
Modi ended his address by talking about India's G20 presidency, saying it was "one of inclusion".

"We should uphold a human-centric approach while meeting challenges of the 21st Century," he said.

According to The Hindu, the World leaders who arrived in Delhi were welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The first session of the G20 Summit would begin at around 10:30 am (India time) under this year’s theme ‘One Earth’.

On September 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the completion of the notification process in the U.S. Congress on August 29 for a commercial agreement between General Electric Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India and the commencement of the negotiations. The leaders lauded the settlement of the seventh and last outstanding World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute between the two countries.

Under India’s Presidency, nine countries — Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates — have been invited to be the “guest countries” in a year when the G-20 is struggling to strike a balance between the agenda of the western countries and that of the Global South.
Biden arrived in New Delhi on Friday evening to attend the G-20 Summit and went straight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence for a bilateral meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding more than 15 bilateral meetings over the next two days.