G20 Summit in Delhi: Who is Attending, Who is Skipping & Guest Countries | Explained

The G20 Summit, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from Saturday, will be attended by several world leaders including Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron, who are a part of the grouping.

Joe Biden left for India on Thursday to participate in the historic Summit in the national capital to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi has said that the G20 Summit in India will be historic as it will be attended by the largest number of world leaders.

Over 40 world leaders are expected to be part of the summit in New Delhi, where preparations are in full swing to host foreign dignitaries. In view of the event, all central government offices, banks and financial institutions in the national capital will be closed from September 8 to 10.

India’s G20 Presidency

The G20 world leaders’ summit, an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies, is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India.

The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

The members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

Over 3,500 hotel rooms have been booked across hotels in Delhi and Gurugram to accommodate the VVIP delegates of the summit, while at least 160 flights have been cancelled during the event.

Countries attending G20 summit:

1. United States: US President Joe Biden is on his way to India to participate in the summit. This is Biden’s maiden visit to India as President and he is likely to stay at ITC Maurya. The US President is expected to discuss a range of global issues with world leaders, including the Ukraine conflict. Biden will also hold a one-to-one meeting with PM Modi on the sideline of the summit.
2. United Kingdom: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is eagerly looking forward to attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi, UK High Commissioner in India, Alex Ellis, revealed last month. Sunak will also make his maiden visit to India as the Prime Minister. As per reports, Sunak will also discuss the UK-India trade negotiations in a separate bilateral meeting with PM Modi.
3. Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed his attendance at the G20 Summit. “I will be at the G20 in a week… and we will continue to make sure that the world is standing with Ukraine" Trudeau said. He also expressed his disappointment that Ukraine was not invited to the summit.
4. South Korea: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the summit in Delhi, South Korea’s Ambassador to India Chang Jae Bok has confirmed. “Yes, our President is coming to the (G20) Summit which is being held on 9-10 September. We strongly support India’s G20 presidency this year and we hope that the Summit meeting in September will be the highlight and culmination of the G20 presidency efforts by the Indian Government," the envoy said.
5. France: French President Emmanuel Macron will also attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi. He is expected to stay at Claridges hotel in New Delhi.
6. Australia: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that he will be attending the summit from September 9 to 10. The Australian prime minister’s visit to India will be part of his three-nation tour including Indonesia and the Philippines.
7. Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be attending the summit and one of the important agenda items he will discuss with the leaders at the summit will be climate change. After the summit, Erdogan will head to New York to attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
8. Bangladesh: Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner has also announced that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the summit. Hasina is then expected to host French President Macron following the summit in New Delhi, according to reports.

Which Countries to Skip G-20

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the G20 summit in New Delhi as he “would focus on special military operations," a Kremlin statement said. Putin has been giving international events a miss since the Ukraine invasion and instead chose to either attend the events virtually or by sending his representative.

Recently, Putin also skipped the BRICS summit in South Africa and the G20 summit in Indonesia last year.

China

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi and the delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang instead, the foreign ministry announced on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the high-profile conclave this weekend and did not provide any reason for President Xi’s absence.

President Xi is also skipping the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and East Asia summits in Jakarta this week. Premier Li will be representing China at the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia.

Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will not be part of the summit in New Delhi as he has not been invited to attend the summit. Zelensky had not attended the G20 summit in Bali last year, but he had addressed the world leaders virtually from Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia, Japan & Others

Many others who have not confirmed their participation to the summit are: Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, Brazil and Argentina.

Guest Countries

The summit will also be attended by some “guest countries" including the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, UAE, Oman, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, and Nigeria.