NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday participate virtually in the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit on Afghanistan that will focus on response to humanitarian needs and access to basic services and livelihood, apart from security and fight against terrorism. In a statement, the government said the summit will also see discussions on mobility, migration and human rights.
The G20 comprises 20 of the world’s major economies and is an important platform to help build international consensus and facilitate a coordinated approach between multilateral organisations, including the UN and its agencies, and global and regional actors to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, said the foreign ministry. The summit is expected to signal to the Taliban what it must do on issues related to security, human rights and also treatment of women, minorities and children if it really wants international recognition.
India has pledged to stand by the people of Afghanistan irrespective of the actions of the Taliban government. The summit is being convened by the G20 Italian Presidency.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar had earlier participated in the meeting of G20 foreign ministers on Afghanistan on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.