Originally, India was scheduled to host theG20 summit in 2021 and Italy in 2022. At the2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit in Argentina,Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said he had requested Italy to host the summit in 2021 and allow India to host it in 2022, on the occasion of the 75th year ofIndia's independence. Italy agreed to let India host the G20 summit in 2022 in its place, owing to the momentum in bilateral ties.[11]
The G20 New Delhi Summit was chaired by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. India's presidency began on 1 December 2022, leading up to the summit in the third quarter of 2023. The presidency handover ceremony was held, in which the G20 presidency gavel was transferred fromIndonesian PresidentJoko Widodo to Indian Prime Minister Modi at the close of theBali summit. Indonesia held the presidency in 2022.[13]
Indian Prime Minister Modi formally handed over the G20 presidency toLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil. India would continue to hold the position until 30 November 2023.[14]
G20 India has put forth six agenda priorities for the G20 dialogue in 2023:[15]
Green Development, Climate Finance and Life
Accelerated, Inclusive and Resilient Growth
Accelerating progress on SDGs
Technological Transformation and Digital Public Infrastructure
Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century
Women-led development
In an interview on 26 August 2023, Prime Minister Modi expressed optimism about the G20 countries' evolving agenda under India's presidency, shifting toward a human-centric development approach that aligns with the concerns of theGlobal South, including addressingclimate change,debt restructuring through the G20's Common Framework for Debt, and a strategy for regulation of globalcryptocurrencies.[16][17][18]
In the lead up to the G20 meeting, the Indian authorities, including theArchaeological Survey of India embarked on a massdemolition drive againsthomeless shelters andslum neighborhoods acrossNew Delhi resulting in theeviction of itsmarginalized residents.[20][21][22][23] Structures near the summit site were removed for being illegal, after giving residents time to vacate. Other demolitions occurred in areas far from the G20 venue, also following court orders.[24] According to the 'Concerned Citizens' collective, this resulted in thedisplacement of an estimated 0.25 to 0.3 million people.[25] InDelhi alone, almost 25 slums werebulldozed to the ground, including settlements inYamuna Bank,Tughlaqabad andMehrauli, among others.[25][26]
Launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at G20 New Delhi 2023
TheAfrican Union joined the G20 as a permanent member, the first since the G20's formation in 1999.[47]
A new organization called theGlobal Biofuel Alliance (GBA) was launched, to promote the development and adoption of sustainablebiofuels, and set relevant standards and certification.[48]
The New Delhi Leaders Declaration was adopted with consensus.[49][50]
A group of countries made a joint agreement to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe called theIndia-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The group comprises India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel and the European Union.[51]
^Mehrotra, Karishma; Shih, Gerry (20 March 2023)."As G-20 meetings come to India, Modi launches a public relations blitz".Washington Post.Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved5 September 2023.In recent weeks, the Indian government has also bulldozed homeless shelters and slums in New Delhi, which activists say are part of a G-20 beautification campaign that is dislocating the poor
^"India Removes the Poor to Prepare for G20 Gathering". VOA. 6 September 2023.In July, a report by a rights activist group found that preparations for the G20 summit resulted in the displacement of nearly 300,000 people.