G20 Summit 2023: Ex-PMs Manmohan Singh, HD Deve Gowda Invited For Grand Dinner In Delhi

G20 Summit Dinner: Apart from the foreign delegates parliamentarians and ministers in the current Cabinet, the G20 Summit dinner will be attended by some of the former senior leaders of the nation.

New Delhi: The national capital is all decked up magnificently to hold the G20 Summit between September 9 and 10. Dignitaries from across the world have started arriving in Delhi to participate in the mega event. Besides the foreign delegates, parliamentarians and ministers in the current Cabinet, the G20 Summit dinner will be attended by some of the former senior leaders of the country.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda have also been invited to the G20 Summit dinner, sources told news agency ANI. However, it also later emerged that the Janata Dal-Secular patriarch HD Deve Gowda has turned down the dinner invite citing health reasons. "I will not be attending the G20 dinner organised by the Hon. President of India Draupadi Murmuji, on 09 September 2023, due to health reasons. I have already communicated this to the government. I wish the G20 summit a grand success,'' he said on X.

I will not be attending the G20 dinner organised by the Hon. President of India Draupadi Murmuji, on 09 September 2023, due to health reasons. I have already communicated this to the government. I wish the G20 summit a grand success. @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn — H D Deve Gowda (@H_D_Devegowda) September 8, 2023

US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are among the key leaders who are going to attend the event in the country's capital city.

Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be taking part in the weekend summit. China, however, will be represented at the summit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia.

This is the first time that the G20 Summit is being hosted by India. Extensive preparations have been underway to portray India's tradition and strength.

The countries taking part in the G20 Summit include Nigeria, Argentina, Italy, the AU (represented by Comros), and South Africa. Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, Egypt, Australia, the United States, Canada, China, the UAE, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, the European Union and Singapore.

A G20 Leaders' Declaration will be adopted at the end of the G20 Summit, stating the leader's commitment to the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working groups. India assumed the G20 presidency last year in November, and the next presidency of the G20 will be handed over to Brazil next year, followed by South Africa in 2025.