PM Lee to discuss multilateralism, sustainable development at G20 summit in New Delhi

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make a three-day working visit to New Delhi from Friday (Sep 8) to attend the Group of Twenty (G20) summit.

Mr Lee, who is attending the annual summit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, will participate in discussions about rules-based multilateralism, digital public infrastructure, health, energy transitions and sustainable development.

He will also have bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the summit, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Friday.

Originally founded in 1999 as a forum to address global economic and financial issues, the G20 is made up of the world’s top economies. It consists of 19 countries and the European Union, representing around 85 per cent of the global gross domestic product and two-thirds of the world’s population.

India holds the rotating G20 presidency for this year. Under the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, it is seeking to promote inclusive growth and accelerate the achievement of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Leaders of major economies expected to attend the summit held in India's capital include US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be at the two-day summit, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Premier Li Qiang leading the two countries’ delegations respectively.

Singapore is not a G20 member but has been regularly invited to take part in past summits and related meetings, usually as the convenor of the Global Governance Group – an informal grouping of 30 small- and medium-sized members of the United Nations.

Mr Lee will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, as well as other senior government officials.

During Mr Lee's absence, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will be Acting Prime Minister.