India to push Global South issues as Modi and Biden set to meet ahead of G20

Name: Chinese President Xi Jinping to skip G20 summit in New Delhi, India
Uploaded: 2023-09-08T09:54:29.000Z
Duration: 1 min 20 s
Description: Chinese President Xi Jinping to skip G20 summit in New Delhi, India

The meeting between the US and Indian leaders will likely pave the way for deeper defence ties and stronger Washington support for the Global South

Analysts say China’s absence at the G20 gives US ‘a free hand to broaden, deepen alliances’ while India ‘likely to be more open to closer ties with US’

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US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last year. Photo: AP

Biman Mukherji

Published: 5:54pm, 8 Sep 2023

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet US President Joe Biden on Friday ahead of the weekend G20 summit in New Delhi, likely paving the way for stronger military ties between the two nations and strengthening Washington’s support for the Global South.

Biden is expected to back India’s bid to include the African Union in the G20, as well as proposals to reform multilateral development banks – especially the World Bank and International Monetary Fund – to free up development lending and climate finance for low and middle-income nations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s absence from the G20 may have left the door ajar for Biden to reinforce stronger ties with not just India but several fast-growing nations, analysts say. China will be represented at the summit by Premier Li Qiang.

The G20 is a group of 20 major economies, including Britain, China, Japan, the European Union and the United States, which together account for 80 per cent of the world’s GDP and 75 per cent of international trade.

Upon his arrival in New Delhi on Friday, President Biden is expected to head straight to Modi’s residence for talks followed by a private dinner hosted by the Indian prime minister.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping to skip G20 summit in New Delhi, India

Pushan Dutt, a professor of economics at the global INSEAD business school, said the weekend summit was being held just as a new Cold War was looming and “like the previous one, this is a race for alliances”.