REUTERS, New Delhi

Leaders of the world’s richest and most powerful countries will attend the two-day G20 Summit in India’s capital New Delhi starting today. This is the first time India will host such a powerful group of world leaders.

The capital has been adorned with ornamental flowers and fountains at traffic roundabouts while public buildings and sidewalks have been given a fresh coat of paint.

Security is being provided by anti-drone systems, cutouts of langurs to scare away monkeys and 130,000 police and para-military personnel.

WHAT IS THE G20?

The world’s 20 major countries formed an economic grouping after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 with the understanding that such crises could no longer be contained within a nation’s borders and required better international economic cooperation.

The bloc currently accounts for 80 percent of global gross domestic production (GDP) and 75 percent of international trade.

Its members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

Although only treasury chiefs met in the initial years, heads of all member nations decided to meet once a year for a leaders’ summit post the 2008 financial crisis.

KEY ISSUES THIS YEAR

Under India’s year-long presidency, the bloc has centred discussions around more loans to developing nations from multilateral institutions, reforming international debt architecture, regulations on cryptocurrency and the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on food and energy security.

So far this year, the bloc has failed to issue any joint statements as it is deeply divided over language referring to the war in Ukraine.

While Russia and China are against blaming Moscow for the war in Ukraine, Western countries including the United States, France and Canada have sought a strong condemnation as a necessary condition for a joint statement.

SUMMIT THEME

India’s G20 theme is derived from the Sanskrit phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” which translates to “The World is One Family”.

WHERE IS THE NEXT MEETING

India will hand over the presidency to Brazil on December 1.