G20 chair India says leaders’ statement almost ready

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The G20 leaders’ communique is almost ready to be presented to those attending the weekend summit of the group, India’s G20 sherpa said on Friday, adding that the statement will be a “voice” of the global south and developing countries.

India, which holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, is hosting the summit, and a consensus on the final document is key to its success.

India wants the summit’s final communique, the Leaders Declaration, to accommodate the views of Russia and China, which have blocked efforts by Western nations to include strong condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Indian officials told Reuters this week.

The hardened stance on the war has prevented agreement on even a single communique at ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency so far this year, leaving it to the leaders to find a way around, if possible.

“New Delhi leaders’ declaration is almost ready, I would not like to dwell on it. This declaration will be recommended to the leaders and the leaders will then accept it, and only after that we’ll be able to talk about the actual achievements of the declaration,” India’s sherpa, or country representative, to the G20, Amitabh Kant, told a press conference.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)