Heads of government from the world’s Group of 20 (G20) major economies started a summit meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali on Tuesday that is marked by deep rifts over the war in Ukraine and concerns over the spike in global inflation.
The Nov 15-16 summit is the first among G20 leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in what Moscow has called a “special military operation”.
What is the G20?
The G20 accounts for more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product, 75% of international trade and 60% of its population.
What countries or groups are members of the G20?
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
Here is a look at who is attending:
U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
Biden intends to discuss a range of contentious issues, including tensions over Taiwan, human rights, the war in Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear program.
CHINA’S PRESIDENT XI JINPING
Xi’s visit to Southeast Asia is only his second foreign trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After meeting Biden on Monday, he is scheduled to hold talks with the Australian Prime Minister and South Korean president among others.
RUSSIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV
Lavrov is representing President Vladimir Putin in Bali after the Russian leader was said to be too busy to attend in person.
Indonesia has resisted pressure from Western countries to withdraw its invitation to Putin and expel Russia from the group over the war in Ukraine, saying it did not have the authority to do so without consensus among members.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK
Sunak is also scheduled to meet Biden. A Downing Street spokesperson said Sunak and Biden will discuss bilateral cooperation, including the AUKUS security pact as an effort to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU
Trudeau is expected to discuss solutions to food, energy insecurity, climate change, and health issues among other global challenges during his visit to Asia, his office said.
JAPAN’S PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA
INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI
Modi is due to symbolically take over the G20 presidency from current chair Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali.
He is also set to meet the Indian diaspora in Bali, which is a predominantly Hindu island.
AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE
Albanese has highlighted the importance of this summit amid global economic uncertainty. He also committed to work closely with the Indonesian president to help deliver a successful summit.
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT YOON SUK-YEOL
Besides joining the summit on Tuesday, Yoon is also due to hold meetings with counterparts and some Korean business leaders in Indonesia.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ
Scholz attends the summit after visiting Vietnam and Singapore during his second trip to Asia in a month as the country seeks to diversify its trade in the region.
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
As well as Xi, Macron is due to hold talks with Modi on the sidelines of the meeting.
SAUDI ARABIA’S CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, is attending.
SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
Ramaphosa will prioritise global health architecture, sustainable energy transition, and digital transformation, his government said.
TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN
ARGENTINA’S PRESIDENT ALBERTO FERNANDEZ
Fernandez will hold talks covering issues such as climate and the impact on the poorest countries, state media said.
MEXICAN FOREIGN MINSTER MARCELO EBRARD
Ebrard will represent President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
BRAZIL’S FOREIGN MINISTER CARLOS FRANCA
Franca is representing Brazil after President Jair Bolsonaro lost an election to incoming leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
EUROPEAN UNION: PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION URSULA VON DER LEYEN AND PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL CHARLES MICHEL.
OTHERS ATTENDING:
UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY (VIRTUAL)
Indonesia invited Zelenskiy to attend the summit as an obsever and he made a speech to the leaders arguing that now was the time to stop Russia’s war in his country.
U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES
CAMBODIAN PRIME MINISTER AND ASEAN CHAIR HUN SEN
Although in Bali, Hun Sen cancelled his meetings at the G20 after testing positive for COVID-19 and will return home.
SINGAPORE PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG
Invited by Indonesia to participate in sessions and will hold bliateral meetings.
Sources: Reuters, officials, state media and domestic media
—Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan
