G20 Summit: Low Expectations on Final Day

As the G20 summit in India enters its final day today (Sunday), there are no major expectations for groundbreaking resolutions. The group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies has been engaged in diplomatic talks throughout the summit, but no significant joint decisions are anticipated. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to pay a visit to the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent Indian freedom fighter, in New Delhi in the morning. The concluding day of the two-day summit will feature the third working session of the roundtable, themed “One Future.” The focus of this session will be on discussing practical approaches to address issues such as reforms of development banks and international financial organizations. Following challenging negotiations, G20 leaders reached a compromise on Saturday, culminating in an agreement on a joint summit declaration. The initial difficulty stemmed from a struggle to find sufficient consensus to issue a traditional summit declaration outlining policy concerns and the forum’s direction. Ultimately, the declaration included softer wording regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine, which allowed the document to be finalized. Unlike the previous G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where a “complete and unconditional withdrawal” from Ukraine was demanded of Russia, this year’s declaration did not explicitly condemn Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. Instead, the document emphasized the importance of all states refraining from attacks on the territorial integrity or political independence of other nations. It also indirectly criticized Russia’s nuclear weapons threats. While some diplomats view this wording as a compromise on the lowest common denominator, it prevented the summit from collapsing. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the final wording related to Ukraine in the joint declaration as a success.

Tinubu meets UK Foreign Secretary on economy, security

President Bola Tinubu is expected to meet UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, who is on a 4-day African visit, on Wednesday. Cleverly, who will spend two days in Nigeria, is on a three-country visit where he is prioritising future-focused, mutually-beneficial partnership. A statement from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office disclosed that a number of funding would be unveiled during Cleverly’s visit to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more resilient to climate change. It said that the funding would help more than four million people develop better farming practices and reduce harmful carbon emissions. Cleverly’s meeting with Tinubu and the National Security Adviser,  Nuhu Ribadu will focus on the UK-Nigeria partnership and key common priorities. ‘’It will also include how to increase bilateral trade and investment, economic development, regional issues, and strengthened security cooperation.’’ Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria was 7.6 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of the first quarter of 2023. This is an increase of 48.4 percent or 2.5 billion pounds in current prices from the four quarters to the end of the first quarter of 2022.