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G20 Summit: Who is attending and who is not?

As Delhi gears up to host over 40 global leaders, many leaders like US president Joe Biden have confirmed their presence, but a few like Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping opt out

One of the street decorations with the G20 logo reflecting the Indian tricolour. Leaders from across the globe are going to gather in Delhi for the G20 Summit on 9–10 September (photo: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
One of the street decorations with the G20 logo reflecting the Indian tricolour. Leaders from across the globe are going to gather in Delhi for the G20 Summit on 9–10 September (photo: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Getty Images

Delhi is set to host the G20 Summit on 8–9 September and more than 40 leaders from across 20 countries are expected to attend the key meetings in the state.

Here's how the RSVP list of the invited world leaders stands:

1. US president Joe Biden

He is set to travel to India and will be here 7–10 September. Besides attending the summit, he will hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the two-day summit, the White House has announced. He is expected to discuss joint efforts to tackle global issues, including transition to clean energy and combating climate change, increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks and mitigating the economic and social impacts of Ukraine war.

2. Chinese premier Li Qiang

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning informed India that Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit. This comes after it was informed that China's president Xi Jinping wouldn’t attend this year's G20 meet.

This will be the first time that a Chinese president has missed a G20 leaders' summit since the first one was held in 2008, though in 2020 and 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Xi attended virtually.

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3. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

After President Vladimir Putin said he would not be attending the summit, immediately after he decided not to join the BRICS summit in South Africa in person too, it was announced that foreign minister Sergei Lavrov would be attending. The Kremlin has not said why Putin will not attend the G20 Summit in India.

Putin's absence in Africa was said to be due to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

4. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau

Trudeau confirmed that he would be attending the G20 Summit in a call with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he also said he was disappointed that the Ukrainian president was not invited.

5. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak

He is expected to attend the summit on his first official trip to India as Britain's prime minister. He is expected to discuss the UK–India trade negotiations in a separate bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi. This is his first official visit to India after taking charge.

6. French president Emmanuel Macron

Macron is set to attend the G20 Summit and is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi.

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7. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese

The Australian prime minister has confirmed his attendance. His visit to India will be part of a three-nation tour, in which he will also be visiting Indonesia and the Philippines.

8. German chancellor Olaf Scholz

Scholz has confirmed attendance. Ahead of his visit to India, Scholz emphasised in an interview with German radio station Deutschlandfunk that the G20 summit remains important despite the absence of the heads of states of Russia and China.

9. Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida

Kishida is set to attend the summit and is expected to lead the criticism of Russia over the Ukraine war.

10. South Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeo

The Korean president is likely to highlight estranged sibling North Korea's ever-escalating missile provocations in the upcoming summit.

11. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa conveyed his intent to attend the summit while also expressing full support for India's G20 presidency. This year, India sought permanent membership for the African Union in the G20.

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12. Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina

The Bangladesh prime minister is likely to attend, according to Indian media reports. Bangladesh is one of the countries invited by India to participate as an 'observer'. She is also expected to host French president Macron following the summit in New Delhi.

13. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan confirmed his presence and he is said to wish to discuss a series of issues, including climate change. He will head to New York to attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly after this summit.

14. Argentina's president Alberto Fernandez

He has confirmed his presence for the meeting.

15. Nigeria's president Bola Tinubu

The Nigerian president is all set to attend the G20 summit and will look to promote foreign investment in the country.

16. Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Though Brazil is set to take over the bloc's presidency from India in December, da Silva has not officially confirmed his attendance.

17. Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

President Lopez Obrador is likely to give the G20 summit a miss this year.

18. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's attendance at the G20 summit is uncertain.

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19. Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

He has not officially confirmed his presence at the Summit, though he is expected to attend.

20. Indonesian president Joko Widodo

He has not officially confirmed his attendance.

21. European Union leaders

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and president of the European Council Charles Michel are yet to confirm their attendance at the G20 summit.

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