Modi hands over G20 Presidency to Lula from Brazil, vows ongoing support

Narendra Modi passed the G20 presidential gavel to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on Sunday (10) and conveyed his confidence that India's successor would continue to promote global unity and prosperity.

During the concluding session of the G20 Leaders' Summit, Modi transferred the ceremonial gavel to Lula, and the gesture was met with resounding applause.

Brazil will officially take over the mantle of the G20 presidency on December 1 and the next Summit is scheduled to be held at the popular seaside resort city of Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.

Lula also held a bilateral meeting with Modi Sunday evening where the two leaders talked about ways to boost trade and cooperation in agriculture and technology.

Lula congratulated Modi for India's successful G20 presidency and pledged to collaborate closely with New Delhi during Brazil's tenure, commencing in December.

Both leaders welcomed the consecutive presidencies of developing countries in the G20 which elevates the Global South's influence in world governance, a joint statement issued after the meeting said.

They noted with satisfaction the formation of a G20 troika comprising the three IBSA countries - India, Brazil and South Africa - during Brazil's presidency.

"Ties between India and Brazil are very strong. We talked about ways to boost trade and cooperation in agriculture, technology and more. I also conveyed my best wishes for Brazil's upcoming G20 Presidency," Modi said on Twitter.

A joint statement issued after the meeting, said the leaders reaffirmed commitment to bolstering the Brazil-India Strategic Partnership and to sustaining their distinctive roles in global affairs.

Modi and Lula also reiterated their mutual support for their countries' permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council.

Modi welcomed Lula's announcement of Brazil's support to the Indian candidature for non-permanent seat of the UNSC for the 2028-2029 term.

The two leaders also highlighted their roles as major global food producers, and reaffirmed their resolve to increase cooperation in sustainable agriculture and rural development, including at the multilateral level, with the aim of safeguarding food and nutritional security of both countries and of the world, the joint statement said.

"They underscored the need for open, unimpeded and reliable food supply chains and called upon the international community to ensure that agricultural trade is not affected by unilateral restrictions and protectionist measures, duly taking into consideration the Multilateral trade rules," it said.

The leaders also welcomed the increased defence cooperation between India and Brazil including participation in military exercises, exchange of high-level defence delegations, and substantive industry presence in each other's defence expositions.

Additionally, the leaders encouraged the defence industries from both sides to explore new collaboration avenues and commence joint projects to co-produce technologically advanced defence products and build supply chain resilience, the joint statement said.

(PTI)