Modi and Obama will attend G20 meet: China

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 has said.

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 focus on improving the global economy with structural reforms and innovation. It is also 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 Abdelfattah al-sisi, will also attend the meeting.