PM Modi welcomes G20 leaders, Delegation heads at Bharat Mandapam

New Delhi [India]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed G20 nations delegations and the participating nations and international organizations leaders and representatives at the Bharat Mandapam for the G20 summit which gets underway today.

As the delegates entered the Bharat Mandapam premises in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, PM Modi received them at the entrance and exchanged handshakes with them.

PM Modi welcomed the President of World Bank Ajay Banga and shook hands with him. World Bank President Ajay Banga arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the two-day G20 Summit.

IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva was also received by PM Modi where both the leaders posed for a photo. Kristalina Georgieva, arrived in Delhi for the G20 Summit where she was welcomed with a cultural dance performance.

African Union President Azali Assoumani also reached the Bharat Mandapam to attend the meeting and was welcomed by PM Modi. The President of the Union of Comoros and the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) arrived in the national capital to participate in this year’s G20 summit hosted by India.

The G20 states have moved closer to an agreement on admitting the African Union as a member of the grouping, with an announcement expected during the summit.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to his counterparts in the G20 grouping, that the AU should be given full membership of the grouping at the upcoming summit.

The other delegation heads who were received by Prime Minister Modi include the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The 18th G20 Summit is a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.