NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies will start a summit in India’s capital on Saturday to try to find solutions to some of the world’s pressing problems amid a deep geopolitical divide over the war in Ukraine that threatens any progress.
Here is a look at who is attending, who is not and who might be:
U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
Biden has confirmed his attendance. Biden intends to discuss the social impact of the war in Ukraine, clean energy transition, fight against climate change, and increasing the capacity of multilateral banks to fight poverty.
CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING
Premier Li Qiang will lead China’s delegation, effectively indicating President Xi Jinping will not attend, scuppering chances of a meeting with Biden.
This will be the first time that a Chinese president has missed a G20 leaders’ summit since the first edition was held in 2008, though in 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi attended virtually.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is representing Russia instead of President Vladimir Putin, weeks after Putin also decided not to join the BRICS summit in South Africa in-person.
Putin’s absence in Africa was said to be due to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The Kremlin, which strongly denies the ICC allegations, has not said why Putin will not attend the G20 gathering in India.
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU
Trudeau confirmed he will attend in a call with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he also said he was disappointed that the Ukrainian president was not invited.
Last year, under Indonesia’s presidency, Zelenskiy was invited to attend the summit as an observer and he made a speech to the leaders arguing that now was the time to stop Russia’s war in his country. India has not extended such an invitation.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK
Sunak is expected attend the summit on his first official trip to India as Britain’s prime minister.
JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA
Kishida is to attend and as a current chair of the G7 is likely to lead criticism against Russia for the Ukraine war.
AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE
The Australian government has highlighted the importance of G20, referring to the bloc as the world’s “pre-eminent forum for global economic cooperation”. Albanese’s trip to India will be a part of a three-nation tour that will include Indonesia and the Philippines.
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT YOON SUK-YEOL
Yoon will attend. He is expected to urge the international community to resolutely respond to North Korea’s “ever-escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats and to work closely together on its denuclearisation”, he told the Associated Press.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ
Scholz has said the upcoming G20 summit in India remains important despite the absence of Russia and China.
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
He is likely to attend the event and hold bilateral talks with Modi, according to Indian media reports.
SAUDI ARABIA’S CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, is expected to attend, according to Indian media reports. However, there has been no official confirmation.
SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
Ramaphosa has expressed full support for India’s G20 presidency while conveying his intent to attend the summit. This year, India sought permanent membership for the African Union in G20.
TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN
He is scheduled to visit India and focus his discussions on climate change, according to media reports.
ARGENTINA’S PRESIDENT ALBERTO FERNANDEZ
Fernandez will attend.
NIGERIA’S PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU
Tinubu plans to attend to try to promote foreign investment in Africa’s largest economy and mobilise global capital to develop infrastructure.
BRAZIL’S PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA
Brazil is set to take over the bloc’s presidency from India in December but has not officially confirmed his attendance.
EUROPEAN UNION: PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION URSULA VON DER LEYEN AND PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, CHARLES MICHEL
The European Union has not officially confirmed the presence of its leaders.
BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER SHEIKH HASINA
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, according to Indian media reports. Bangladesh is one of the countries invited by India to participate as an observer.
MEXICAN PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR
Obrador is unlikely to attend the event, as per Indian media reports.
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI
Italy has not officially confirmed Meloni’s presence.
INDONESIAN PRESIDENT JOKO WIDODO
Indonesia has not officially confirmed Widodo’s presence.
Sources: Reuters, officials, state media and domestic media
(Compiled by Aftab Ahmed and Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Nick Macfie)
