US President Joe Biden looks on as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a gathering with senior officials and CEOs of American and Indian firms, within the East Room the White House in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2023.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden will travel to Latest Delhi to satisfy with the world’s largest economies on the Group of 20 summit and once more flex his muscles because the diplomat in chief.
Throughout his presidency, Biden has preached a gospel of diplomacy and multilateralism, assuring America’s friends and its rivals that rule of law and alliances can function a bulwark against the rise of autocracy.
“The US’ commitment to the G20 hasn’t wavered and we hope this G20 summit will show that the world’s major economies can work together even in difficult times,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.
The Group of 20 represents 85% of worldwide gross domestic product, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world’s population. Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate change, the economy and delivering for developing countries can be top of mind for the president as he meets with other world leaders, Sullivan said.
Biden nearly missed attending the event in person after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, tested positive for Covid-19 over Labor Day weekend. The president will proceed on to Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday before traveling to Alaska to look at the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The leaders of two distinguished members, Russia and China, won’t be in attendance. Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the summit for the second yr in a row, as will Chinese President Xi Jinping. Each leaders are sending other officials of their absence.
A person walks past an installation on a skywalk ahead of the G20 Summit in Latest Delhi, India, September 6, 2023.
Francis Mascarenhas | Reuters
This can be the primary G20 summit a Chinese president has missed since its inaugural event in 2008; he attended virtually throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The conference has long been touted as a possible meeting point for Biden and Xi, who last met at Indonesia’s G20 summit in November. Biden said Sunday he was “disillusioned” in Xi’s decision, but added he would “get to see him” without elaborating. Xi did attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg last month.
China has not stated why Xi won’t attend, but host country India and China have deep tension stemming back to an incident in 2020 on their Himalayan border that resulted in 24 deaths.
Putin has not left Russia for the reason that International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Even without Russia’s leader on the summit, the country’s invasion of Ukraine will likely remain on the forefront of discussions.
Like last yr, Russia’s war in Ukraine is more likely to cause disagreement amongst members and complicate the signing of a joint statement, especially with Xi skipping. The group was only in a position to reach a consensus on a joint communique in Indonesia condemning the war with careful wording. Not doing so would mark the primary time the group has not released a joint statement.
Sullivan said Biden will once more call for a peaceful resolution to the war.
“The fact is Russia’s illegal war has had devastating social and economic consequences and the poorest countries on the planet are bearing the brunt of that,” Sullivan said. “As he has done before, President Biden will call for a just and sturdy peace, one founded in respect for international law.”