US away, India says: Worked with China to preserve G20

“The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg provided an opportunity to meet CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi of China this morning on its sidelines,” Jaishankar said in a post on X, sharing photographs of the meeting.

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “The meeting lasted for about 30 minutes. The two ministers reviewed developments in our bilateral relationship since their last meeting in November… Management of peace and tranquility in border areas, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra resumption, trans border river, flight connectivity and travel facilitation were discussed. There was also an exchange of views on G20 and SCO.”

Jaishankar, in his remarks, before the meeting said, “I am glad that we could meet today on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg. Such gatherings have provided an opportunity for our interaction even when our ties were going through a difficult phase.”

“We should also recognise that in a polarised global situation, our two countries have worked hard to preserve and protect the G20 as an institution. This in itself testifies to the importance of international cooperation,” he said.

Incidentally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not attending the G20 meeting.

“Since our last meeting in Rio during the G20 Summit in November 2024, there have been some notable developments. Our NSA and Foreign Secretary have visited China and there have been discussions about various aspects of our relationship. These have included management of peace and tranquillity in the border areas as well as other dimensions of our ties. I am glad today to have a further exchange of views,” he said.

“India and China are members of the G20, SCO and BRICS. There are also regional and global issues of mutual interest, where an exchange of perspectives will be to our mutual benefit,” he said.

On Thursday, addressing the G20 session titled ‘Discussion on the Global Geopolitical Situation’, Jaishankar said the G20 was an important expression of the world’s growing multi-polarity.

“The global geopolitical situation remains difficult by any definition. Some of it is the accumulated challenges of the Covid pandemic, conflict situations, financial pressures, food security and climate concerns,” he said.