India is set to host the G-20 summit in 2023, instead of 2022 — the 75th year of Independence. Indonesia will assume G-20 presidency in 2022 after a swap with India, Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi said, adding that the change of plan was agreed considering that Indonesia would also chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2023. “India also has had the same request to change the G-20 presidency in 2023,” the Indonesian minister said. “We look forward to our next meetings in Italy in 2021, Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024," the G-20 Riyadh Summit Leaders Declaration said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the importance of reforms in multilateral organisations to ensure better global governance for faster post-Covid recovery at the G-20 Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. The agenda of the second day of the summit focused on building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future with a side event on safeguarding the planet. An official statement by the MEA said that the Prime Minister underscored the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals aimed at “leaving no one behind”. With the changing situation in the wake of the pandemic, the Prime Minister said the country has adopted the ‘Self Reliant India’ initiative, and will become an important and reliable pillar of world economy and global supply chains based on its competence and dependability. At a global level, India also took the initiative of establishing institutions such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Addressing the side event — ‘Safeguarding the Planet: The Circular Carbon Economy Approach’, Modi said India is not only meeting its Paris Agreement targets, but also exceeding them. “Reiterated the importance of reforms in multilateral organizations to ensure better global governance for faster post-COVID recovery,” Modi tweeted. Chinese President Xi Jinping said the G-20 countries should take the lead in tackling climate change, follow the guidance of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and push for the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. A G-20 declaration said the leaders “are committed to leading the world in shaping a strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive post-COVID-19 era”. On terrorist financing, the G-20 declaration said, “We support the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Fin-ancing policy responses detailed in FATF’s paper on COVID-19, and reaffirm our support for the FATF, as the global standard-setting body for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”
