Under the theme ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, the G20 leaders meet for a two-day summit in Bali, Indonesia, where they discuss global and regional developments including the military conflict in Ukraine. During his address opening the conference, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on member states to end the conflict.
“We have no other option, collaboration is needed to save the world,” Widodo said. “The G20 must be the catalyst for inclusive economic recovery. We must not divide the world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another cold war.”
A draft G20 declaration says “most” members strongly condemn the war in Ukraine and that it is exacerbating fragilities in the world economy.
Russia said “politicisation” of the summit was unfair. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who headed the Russian delegation to the summit in the absence of President Vladimir Putin, earlier accused Ukraine of setting “unrealistic” conditions for talk. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a “very frank and open discussion” on the Black Sea grain deal with Lavrov.
G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. Ukraine is not a G20 member but has been invited by host Indonesia as an observer. Its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressed the meeting virtually.
UPDATE 16/11/2022
G20 Summit Highlights
-Indonesia, called for unity in the face of global problems such as inflation, hunger and hefty energy bills. Indonesian President Widodo stressed that collaboration was paramount “to save the world.”
-Chinese Foreign Ministry reportedly hailed Russia’s “rational” and “responsible” stance toward avoiding nuclear war.
-“Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that the West has unleashed and been preparing for years,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
-The summit was preceded by a bilateral meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the first time the two had met since Biden became president. It was overall a positive meeting.
-Chinese President Xi Jinping has chastised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over alleged leaks of an earlier meeting at the G20 summit, in a rare public display of annoyance that was captured on camera.
With reporting by Reuters, DW, AP. Al Jazeera
