NEW DELHI (AP) – G20 leaders paid their respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi as their summit came to a close yesterday, a day after the group added a new member and reached agreement on a range of issues/
The Group of 20 rich and developing nations welcomed the African Union as a member – part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to uplift the Global South.
And host India was also able to get the disparate group to sign off on a final statement despite pointed disagreements among powerful members. India also unveiled an ambitious plan with the United States (US), the European Union and others to build a rail and shipping corridor linking it with the Middle East and Europe in a bid to strengthen economic growth and political cooperation.
With those major agenda items taken care of, the leaders shook hands yesterday and posed for photos with Modi at the Rajghat memorial site in New Delhi.
Each received a shawl made of khadi, a handspun fabric that was promoted by Gandhi during India’s independence movement against the British.
Some leaders – including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and last year’s G20 host President Joko Widodo of Indonesia – walked to the memorial barefoot in a customary show of respect. US President Joe Biden and others wore slippers as they walked over wet ground spotted with puddles from heavy rain.
The leaders stood before wreaths placed around the memorial, which features an eternal flame and was draped with orange and yellow marigold garlands.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took over the G20 rotating presidency at the summit’s end.
He hopes to rebuild Brazil’s standing after a period of international isolation under far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro.
