RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived in India to lead the Saudi delegation to the G20.
He was welcome by top Indian officials upon his arrival in New Delhi early Saturday morning.
فيديو | وصول #ولي_العهد الأمير محمد بن سلمان إلى نيودلهي لرئاسة وفد المملكة في قمة مجموعة العشرين G20 #الإخبارية pic.twitter.com/6VUcp0lFpT
— قناة الإخبارية (@alekhbariyatv) September 9, 2023
The crown prince is leading the Kingdom’s delegation participating in the G20 leaders’ summit, and will also have an official visit to the South Asian nation upon the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two will discuss bilateral relations and issues of common concern, and hold a meeting of the Saudi-Indian Strategic Partnership Council, SPA reported.
More G20 leaders touch down in New Delhi for the #G20 Summit.
Crown Prince and PM of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud welcomed by Minister @RailMinIndia @pib_comm & @GoI_MeitY @AshwiniVaishnaw.
Chancellor of Germany @Bundeskanzler welcomed by MoS @minmsme… pic.twitter.com/8Mv3b1R7zJ
— G20 India (@g20org) September 9, 2023
#فيديو pic.twitter.com/3vWVKB24df
— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) September 9, 2023
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies began an annual summit on Saturday in New Delhi by granting permanent membership to the African Union in an effort to make the G20 more representative.
But the bloc remained deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations pushing for strong condemnation of Russia while others demanded that the group focus on broader economic issues.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his opening address to the G20 summit Saturday with his country nameplate labelled "Bharat" -- an ancient Sanskrit word that Modi typically uses to refer to India.
Modi announced the African Union's membership in the G20 on par with the European Union. He invited the AU, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.
The summit is expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and has sent Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia's Vladimir Putin will also be absent.
US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japan's Fumio Kishida, among others, are attending.
The summit had been seen as affording a venue for a possible meeting between Xi and Biden following months of efforts by the two world powers to mend ties frayed by trade and geopolitical tensions.
Russia is being represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and he has said he will block the final declaration unless it reflects Moscow's position on Ukraine and other crises.
(with Reuters and AFP)
