India passes G20 gavel to Brazil, proposes virtual summit in November

New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday handed over the customary gavel of the G20 chair to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and proposed a virtual summit by November to take stock of initiatives taken during the Indian Presidency.

Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1 this year.

Prime Minister Modi extended full support to Brazil and expressed confidence that its presidency will take forward the shared goals of the G20 bloc.

“India passes the gavel to Brazil. We have unwavering faith that they will lead with dedication, vision and will further global unity as well as prosperity,” Modi said.

Modi proposed a virtual G20 Summit by November end to take stock of the suggestions and decisions made at the leaders’ summit that concluded here on Sunday.

“In the last two days, you have put forward your views, given suggestions and a number of proposals have been put forward. It is our responsibility that the suggestions that have come forth are closely looked upon as to how they can be speeded up,” Modi said.

“It is my proposal that we hold another session of the G20 virtually in November- end. In that session, we can review the issues that have been agreed upon during this summit. Our teams will share the details of it with all of you. I hope all of you will join this (session),” he said.

“With this, I declare the G20 summit as closed,” Modi said.

He cited a Sanskrit shloka to pray for hope and peace in the entire world.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the G20 Summit here, Lula said the bloc was not interested in a “divided G20” and the challenges of the day could be faced only through joint action.

“We need peace and cooperation instead of conflict,” he said soon after Prime Minister Modi passed on the gavel to him.

The next Summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.