India hosts a G20 summit that faces divisions over Ukraine and the climate
The US president and other G20 leaders arrive in New Delhi on Friday for a weekend summit where India is seeking to broker a dialogue on Ukraine and climate change, despite the absence of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
The leaders are divided on key issues such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the goal of phasing out fossil fuels and global debt restructuring, making it difficult to reach a final declaration on Sunday.
Latin America will be represented by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country will take over the bloc's presidency from India, and Argentina's Alberto Fernández, who is already in New Delhi. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will not attend.
US President Joe Biden took off from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington and is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi at 18:15 on Friday (13:45 GMT).
Biden's schedule in India begins with a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he received with great pomp at the White House in June.
The US is seeking to strengthen its ties with India in an ongoing standoff with China, while New Delhi is trying to consolidate its international leadership.
This is despite differences over Russia over India's refusal to participate in sanctions imposed against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, and over human rights.
US attentive to China's indicators
The absence of two heavyweights like Putin and Xi, who usually act as counterweights, leaves Biden free to play a central role in the summit.
Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is already in India, and the Chinese mission will be led by Premier Li Qiang.
Biden arrives in India at a key moment in the chessboard of geopolitical alliances against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and with China seeking to consolidate its influence and increasingly challenging Washington.
The US hopes to use the summit to demonstrate that the bloc, despite its divisions, remains the main forum for global economic cooperation.
The United States is "carefully" monitoring the challenges facing China, such as declining domestic consumption, real estate indebtedness and demographic challenges, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in New Delhi on Friday.
Yellen said she was aware of the risk posed by China's situation to global growth, but said that "overall, the global economy has been resilient".
She added that "the most important negative influence is the Russian war in Ukraine".
A "scandalous" blockade
On that conflict, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on arrival in New Delhi that support for Ukraine would be his main focus at the summit.
"Putin is again absent from the G20, but we will come with support for Ukraine," Sunak, of Indian origin and a devout Hindu, posted on social media.
The G20 appears divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with several developing countries at the forum more concerned about grain prices than diplomatic condemnations of Moscow.
Modi's efforts to get G20 leaders to avoid divisions and address crucial global issues, particularly global debt restructuring and commodity price volatility in the wake of the invasion against Ukraine, have been in vain in ministerial meetings ahead of the summit.
In this regard, European Council President Charles Michel told reporters on Friday that it is "frankly outrageous that Russia, after ending the Black Sea grain initiative, is blockading and attacking Ukrainian ports.
Modi on Thursday also reaffirmed his desire to expand the G20 with "the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member".
"I am delighted to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and I am proud that the EU has immediately reacted positively to support this candidacy," Michel said.
"We will wait and see what the decision will be, but one thing is clear: the EU supports Africa's accession to the G20," he added.
The Indian leader also called on G20 leaders to support developing countries financially and technologically in the fight against climate change.