G20 Summit 2023: Ahead of the third session of Day 2 of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden at Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
PM Modi welcomed the two leaders with an 'angvastram' or Khadi stole with an image of Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat. He explained that the Sabarmati Ashram was Gandhiji's home from 1917 to 1930 as he played an important role in India's independence movement.
The Indian Prime Minister was seen escorting Sunak and Biden to Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi. He also explained the significance of the ashram to other leaders. The G20 leaders gathered at Gandhi's samadhi and laid wreaths to pay tributes to him.
PM Modi and his British counterpart Sunak walked barefoot, while others were seen wearing white footwear provided to the visitors at Rajghat. Several leaders, including Canada's Justin Trudeau, France's Emmanuel Macron and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa were also present at the event.
Sunak embarked on a visit to Akshardham temple with his wife Akshata Murthy, while Biden departed for a high-stakes visit to Vietnam.
G20 Summit concludes
Meanwhile, PM Modi, who led the two-day G20 Leaders' Summit, announced the conclusion of the mega event on Sunday. He also formally handed over India's presidency to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
"We will support Brazil and we are confident that under their presidency, G20 till take forward our shared objectives. I congratulate Brazil President and my friend Lula da Silva and now I hand over the gavel of G20 presidency to him," said PM Modi at the Summit.
The first day of the two-day G20 Summit saw several key meetings and historic outcomes as world leaders gathered in New Delhi. Among various key outcomes, for the first time G20 leaders adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration' with 100 per cent consensus, including on Ukraine.
India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said the G20 Declaration was historical and path-breaking with 100 per cent consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues. "The new geopolitical paragraphs are a powerful call for planet, people, peace and prosperity in today's world," he said.
The African Union was made a permanent member of the G20 in another major outcome of the Summit. PM Modi announced that African Union was admitted as G20's permanent member.
In another historic development, India, United States, UAE other nations jointly announced India-Middle East-Europe economic corridror including railway and shipping links to boost economic activity in the region.
(with PTI inputs)
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