G20 meeting/ Disagreement on Ukraine, consensus on major infrastructure projects

2023-09-09 17:41:29, Kosova & Bota CNA

In the absence of a consensus on Ukraine, the meeting of the 20 richest countries in the world focused mainly on economic projects. President Joe Biden and allies agreed on a rail and maritime corridor that will link India to the Middle East and Europe, an ambitious project aimed at boosting economic growth and political cooperation. The meeting came out with a joint statement that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine, but called on all countries not to use force to occupy territories. As he had announced, Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the meeting.

The high-level meeting of the 20 countries with the largest economies in the world came out with a joint statement on its first day.

The consensus was seen as an unexpected development due to the deep divisions between the countries over the war in Ukraine.

In the statement of the G20 leaders, it is acknowledged that on the situation in Ukraine "there were different views and assessments of the situation", however, they agreed to say that: "...All states should avoid acts of threat or use of force with we aimed at occupying the territories" and considered "unacceptable the threat of using nuclear weapons".

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The approval of the statement announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with applause, but Kiev, which did not have its own representative at the meeting, expressed its displeasure. Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the part of the statement about Russian aggression "is nothing to be proud of".

Disagreements over the war in Ukraine have made most of the participants deal mainly with economic issues, especially the agreement on a railway project connecting India with the Middle East and Europe.

The project involving the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and other countries is part of the Global Infrastructure Investment Partnership.

President Joe Biden praised the projects, which according to European announcements will make trade between India and Europe 40% faster than it is now.

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"We will focus on regional infrastructure projects that deliver results for many countries and sectors. The US wants to expand economic corridors to increase its investments", said the American President in New Delhi.

"The rail and maritime transport corridor will enable greater trade between the countries, including energy products," Prime Minister Modi said while announcing the deal.

The project is also expected to be a more ambitious response to China's massive infrastructure program, through which it has linked many countries to its economy. Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 meeting. To the question of how his absence is affecting the meeting, the American President answered: "It would be nice if he was here, but the meeting is going well."

At the start of Saturday's meeting, the African Union became a permanent member of the G20. The Indian foreign minister called this development in line with the attention being paid to addressing the urgent concerns of the southern part of the globe./ VOA