As India is set to hold the G20 Summit scheduled to be held on September 9-10, India's business tycoons, led by rivals Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, will join delegates at a dinner in the national capital on Saturday, September 9.
US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman are expected to be part of the annual meeting in New Delhi.
With China's economy slowing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to wield leadership of the G20 grouping of the world's most powerful economies to promote India as an attractive destination for trade and investment. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the multi-national summit.
Around 500 businessmen invited for summit
In addition to Reliance Industries' Ambani and the Adani Group chairman, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, Bharti Airtel founder-chairman Sunil Mittal are among 500 businessmen invited for the mega event in Delhi, Reuters reported citing sources. "This dinner... will host various state heads and makes for an opportunity to gather India's Who's Who during the leaders' summit," said one Indian official who spoke about the closed-door event on condition of anonymity, Reuters reported.
Saturday's dinner is likely to afford PM Modi another opportunity to highlight business and investment opportunities in India. To be held at a brand-new $300-million venue in the shape of a conch shell, the menu will feature Indian food with a special emphasis on millets, a grain the country has been promoting. For years, Ambani and Adani have competed across a wide range of industries from telecoms to media, and energy to finance. Both have been ranked, by turns, Asia's richest person.
Two-day G20 Summit
The two-day G20 Summit will be held on September 9-10. However, related events, including sherpa meetings, and meetings of finance, energy and central bank deputies will begin from September 23.
It should be mentioned here that the summit will take place at the newly developed convention centre at Pragati Maidan. According to the information received, at least 23 hotels across the city have been designated for the stay of delegates of the event.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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