The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will discuss various regional topics, including the "developments in Ukraine" during Lavrov's visit to India for the G20 meeting.
The two ministers will also discuss ways to enhance cooperation in key areas, such as trade, investment, transport and logistics, the use of national currencies in mutual settlements, and promising projects in the energy sector. They will exchange views on current international issues and challenges, including interaction under India's SCO chairmanship and G20 presidency, as well as coordination of approaches in the UN, BRICS, and RIC.
Russia supports India's G20 presidency
Russia supports India's G20 presidency and commitment to promote a unifying agenda that will restore confidence in multilateral diplomacy and prevent the fragmentation of the global economy.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry statement, "We share the relevance of India's stated priorities: ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic growth; accelerating progress towards the achievement of sustainable development goals; reforming multilateral institutions; digital modernisation; and increasing women's economic engagement."
Russia considers the G20 a prestigious forum for the world's leading economies, a significant discussion platform on global governance, where balanced consensus decisions should be made in the interests of all humankind. Its participants account for about 80 per cent of global GDP, international trade, and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as two-thirds of the world's population.
Lavrov arrived in India for G20 conference
Lavrov arrived in India on Tuesday for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting and will also attend Raisina Dialogue 2023. "Welcome to India! FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia @mfa_russia and @UNDESA Under Secretary General Li Junhua arrive in New Delhi for #G20FMM. FM Lavrov will also attend #Raisina2023," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Tuesday.
The theme of this year's event is 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', and the meeting will focus on multilateralism, energy and food security, and international development. The agenda also includes counterterrorism, labour resources, humanitarian assistance, and reduction of the impacts of natural disasters.
During the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry intends to talk about the reasons and instigators of the current serious problems in world politics and the global economy. They will focus on the attempts by the West to take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands and its striving to continue receiving unilateral rent, in part, through unequal trade and violent interference in the affairs of sovereign states.
Russia plans to hold an exhibition at the International Book Fair in New Delhi on the commonality of world outlooks and the mutual influence of Leo Tolstoy (195th birth anniversary) and Mahatma Gandhi (75th anniversary of his tragic death). The Russian Foreign Ministry also welcomed the initiative of the Indian Presidency to organise a special G20 pavilion at the fair from February 25 to March 5, 2023.
Lavrov's visit to India for the G20 meeting provides an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen their bilateral relations and coordinate their approaches to regional and global issues. The G20 meeting serves as a platform for discussing pressing issues of international concern and reaching balanced consensus decisions in the interest of all humankind.
