G-20 summit begins today in Osaka, Japan

G20 Summit begins in Osaka, Japan today. The theme of the summit is Human-centred future society.

Several state heads including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in the two-day summit.

19 countries, the European Union and several special invitees are participating at the Osaka Summit which will see discussions on Global Economy- Trade & Investment, Innovation in Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence, Addressing Inequalities, Realizing an Inclusive & Sustainable World and Climate Change Energy and Environment in four different sessions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe in Osaka ahead of the formal opening of the G-20 Summit.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister informed that during the Japan-America-India trilateral meeting, Modi highlighted the importance India attaches to the grouping.

Later, briefing media after the meet, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said 'JAI' (Japan, America and India) meeting was fruitful and the three leaders discussed issues related



to Indo-Pacific region and trade.

The Foreign secretary said, the Prime Minister's meeting with the US President was productive. He said, issues related to Iran and trade & defence relations, were discussed. He said, Mr Trump expressed hope that oil prices will remain stable. Mr. Gokhale informed that the two leaders also discussed 5G technology.

Mr Modi, in his second trilateral summit today, will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The impetus for the current G20 summit was the global financial meltdown in 2008 when the leaders gathered to discuss how to prevent a similar crisis from happening again.

One of the most urgent tasks facing the G-20 members is to regain confidence in the multilateral trading system, given the fact that trade tensions have started to weigh heavily on the prospects of growth.

With nearly a year and half to go before the 2020 G-20 summit in Saudi Arabia, Osaka summit is expected to set the tone for next year’s discussions.