NEW DELHI, Mar 01, 2023 (BSS) - The Foreign Ministers of G20 countries will discuss various issues like multilateralism, food, energy and fertilizer cooperation, emerging threats, counter terrorism and narcotics during their tomorrow’s meeting.

Although the two-day G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting is going to begin today following a gala dinner, the main discussion part will be held tomorrow in two segments. The theme of this year’s meeting is- “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.

Speaking at a media briefing here this morning, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra however said that issues relating to global skill mapping, global talent pool, humanitarian assistance and global risk management due to climate change will also come up in the discussion.

He said a total of 40 delegations including seven especially invited countries including Bangladesh and 13 international organisations will attend the meeting being held under the India’s G20 presidency. India got G20 presidentship in December last year.
        
Apart from the G20 member states, seven countries were invited as special guests. They are- Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore and UAE.     
The Indian foreign secretary said on the sidelines of the meeting, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts. The participating foreign ministers are expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides, the foreign ministers of G20 countries and other invitees have been arriving in New Delhi to attend the meeting of the world’s major economic grouping.

Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Brazil Mauro Vieira, Foreign Minister of Mauritius Alan Ganoo and ILO Sherpa Richard Marc Samans, Foreign Minister of Turkiye Mevlüt Cavusoglu and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, among others, have arrived in New Delhi yesterday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, European Union representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell are expected to arrive here this evening.
 
Foreign ministers of other G20 countries and specially invited nations including Bangladesh are expected to arrive today.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen is scheduled to arrive in the city this afternoon by a Bangladesh Biman Airlines flight. After arriving here, he will deliver a lecture on “Promoting Culture of Peace for Shared Prosperity: A Vision for South Asia” at Vivekananda International Foundation at 5 PM.

Later, he will join a dinner to be hosted for the G20 Foreign Ministers and heads of delegation in the evening.

The Group of Twenty comprises 19 countries-Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade and about two-third of the world population.

The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.