Modi to virtually join G20 summit on Afghanistan

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually join the G20 extraordinary leaders’ summit on Afghanistan on October 12 that will discuss a response to the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country and the fight against terrorism.

The summit has been convened by Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the grouping of 20 of the world’s major economies. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has discussed Afghanistan with world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of efforts to organise the special meeting to forge strategies to confront the crisis.

The agenda of the meeting will include a discussion on the response to the humanitarian needs of Afghanistan and access to basic services and livelihood, security and the fight against terrorism, and also mobility, migration and human rights, the external affairs ministry said.

Earlier, Modi participated in a virtual format in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)- Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) outreach summit on Afghanistan on September 17, when he cautioned the international community against rushing to recognise the Taliban setup in Kabul as the change of power in Afghanistan was not inclusive and was done without negotiations.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar participated in a meeting of G20 foreign ministers on Afghanistan on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last month.

G20 is an important platform to build international consensus and facilitate a coordinated approach between multilateral organisations, including the UN and its agencies, and global and regional actors to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the external affairs ministry said.

“We have to see whether there are shared objectives among the G20 nations…we have reached a point where we only need to worry about saving lives,” Draghi told a news conference last month.

The G20 meeting on Afghanistan will be held a few weeks before the grouping’s summit in Rome during October 30-31. Draghi said Qatar, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and UN will participate in the upcoming meeting. (Hindustan Times)