From K J M Varma

Beijing: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among the Heads of State and Government who will attend the G20 summit from September 4, the host country China announced today.

The Hangzhou summit, to be presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping, has invited the maximum number of developing countries in G20 history, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, adding that leaders of all G20 countries will attend the meeting.

“It represents the inclusiveness of the meeting with both developed and developing countries sitting together as equal partners,” he said.

The voices of developing countries will be fully heeded during the summit to be held from September 4-5, Lu told a media briefing here.

This shows the major changes of the international economic regime that developed and developing countries can have equal consultations and make decisions on international economic affairs, he said.

“This is in line with the trends of history and is a historic progress,” Lu said.

China has said the summit will mainly focus on improving the global economy with structural reforms and innovation. It is also actively campaigning against bringing up political disputes like the South China Sea during the summit.

Besides the heads of the state and governments of G20 countries, leaders of some guest countries including Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, would also attend the meeting.

Also leaders of top international organisations, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo would attend the meeting, Lu said.

The summit would focus broadly on improving the world economy mired in a prolonged downturn, Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said in its commentary yesterday.

Eight years after the global financial crisis, the recovery remains slow and fragile. The current global economic growth environment is mediocre, featuring rising unemployment, soaring debt, sluggish trade and investment and turbulent financial and commodity markets, the commentary said.

Innovation will be a key G20 agenda for the first time.

Innovation, characterised by technology and new products and business models, will create new consumption opportunities and trends, it said.

PTI