G20 Summit: PM Modi ‘Delighted’ To Meet Joe Biden, Addresses Opening Session

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met outgoing US President Joe Biden and other world leaders in Rio de Janeiro on Monday ahead of the G20 Summit in Brazil.

“Always a delight to meet him,” Modi captioned a picture that he shared on X.

Modi, who flew to Rio from Nigeria on the second leg of his three-nation foreign visit, was warmly greeted by Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

Modi also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the G20 Summit venue before addressing the opening session on ‘Social Inclusion and the Fight against Hunger and Poverty’.

“At the outset, I would like to congratulate President Lula for the grand arrangements made for the organisation of the G20 summit and for his successful G20 Presidency. The people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazil’s Presidency. It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG goals… It is clear that One Earth One Family One Future, is as relevant at this summit as it was last year,” Modi said.

“I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts. So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South,” the Indian PM stated.

“And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance,” Modi went on.

The theme for this year’s G20 Summit is ‘Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet’, with a focus on social inclusion, poverty reduction, sustainable development, and reforms in global governance.

After attending the two-day G20 Summit, Modi will fly to Guyana to round off his five-day overseas trip.