Israel-Hamas war shouldn’t turn into regional conflict: Modi to G20 leaders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called on world leaders to ensure that the war between Israel and Hamas does not turn into a regional conflict, stressing the need to ensure timely and continued delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Presenting the virtual G20 leaders’ summit in September, Modi said no one expected what the global situation would look like today. “New challenges have emerged in recent months. The situation of insecurity and instability in the West Asia region concerns us all. Our gathering 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 deaths of civilians, wherever they occur, are despicable,” he said.
Modi on Wednesday welcomed the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas and stressed the importance of raising a voice against terrorism and violence, and towards humanity. “It is also important to ensure that the war between Israel and Hamas does not take any regional form. Despite the clouds of crisis we see today, One Family has the power to work for peace,” he added.
The virtual summit was attended by many G20 heads of state, invited world leaders and heads of international organizations. While US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping missed it, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the meeting.
During the summit, leaders discussed progress in implementing the outcomes and action items of the New Delhi Summit. In his closing remarks, Modi said there is agreement among G20 countries on zero tolerance towards terrorism, that killing innocents, especially women and children, is unacceptable; and that a two-state solution is the permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Putin told leaders it was necessary to think about how to stop “the tragedy” of the war in Ukraine, saying Moscow had never refused to take part in peace talks with Kiev. “Yes, of course military actions are always a tragedy. And of course we have to think about how to stop this tragedy. By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine,” he said.
Putin had skipped previous G20 summits in New Delhi and Nusa Dua, Indonesia, sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead.
Modi, in his opening statement, said it is necessary to undertake reforms in global economic and governance structures to make them effective and ensure timely and affordable assistance to needy countries. “The countries of the Global South are facing many difficulties for which they are not responsible. In this context, the need of the hour is that we give our full support to the development agenda,” he added.
The Prime Minister hoped that the upcoming COP-28, to be held in the United Arab Emirates, will take concrete steps towards some of the issues endorsed by G20 countries, such as increasing climate financing from billions to trillions of dollars, tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030, and mission LiFE, i.e. lifestyle for the environment, for a pro-planet approach.
Modi said the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Repository, announced at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, is ready and more than 50 DPIs from 16 countries have been added to it. “To implement DPI in the countries of the South, I propose to establish a Social Impact Fund. On behalf of India, I am also announcing an initial amount of USD 25 million for this purpose. I hope you all will join this initiative,” he said.
Highlighting the growing concerns over the negative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) around the world, Modi said India clearly believes that countries should work together on global regulation of AI. “In the age of artificial intelligence, it is necessary today to use technology responsibly. We need to make progress in understanding the seriousness of DeepFake and how dangerous it is to society and the individual. We want AI to reach people, and it must be safe for society. With this approach, the Global AI Partnership Summit will be organized in India next month,” he added.