Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the G20 virtual summit which took place on November 22 in Delhi office of PM Modi. He welcomed the release of 50 hostages which were held up by the Hamas, and later also made seven observations on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. One of the seven observations importantly included zero tolerance on terrorism. He described the death of the civilians unacceptable and requested the need of a humanitarian aid and also urged for need for regional stability.
“When I proposed this virtual summit, there was no anticipation of what the global situation would be like today. New challenges have arisen in the last months. The situation of insecurity and instability in the West Asia region is a matter of concern for all of us. Our coming together today symbolizes that we are sensitive to all issues and stand together to resolve them. We believe that terrorism is unacceptable to all of us. The death of civilians, wherever they happen, is condemnable,’’ said Modi in the online summit. He also hoped for the early release of all Israeli hostages.
“It is necessary to ensure timely and continuous delivery of humanitarian aid. It is also important to ensure that the war between Israel and Hamas does not take any regional form. Despite the clouds of crisis that we are seeing today, One Family has the power to work for peace. From the perspective of human welfare, we can raise our voice against terrorism and violence, and towards humanity. Today, India is ready to move step by step to fulfil this expectation of the world and humanity,’’ Modi added.
The virtual G20 Summit was thereby attended by 22 nations (heads of the government). There were also some leaders who were not present in the meet. While the summit witnesses the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Australian PM Anthony Albanese. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden did not participate in the summit. “It is for a country to decide on who represents them,’’ said Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, after the conclusion of the Summit.
