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| - Fact Check: Modi was not ignored at this G20 meet - Here's why he is missing from pic of world leaders
After the recently concluded two-day G20 Summit in Bali, a photo of top world leaders attending a meeting is making the rounds on social media with many claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not a part of this crucial meet.
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India Today Fact Check
The emergency meeting was convened by NATO and G7 members following a missile strike in Poland. India is part of neither organisation.
The just-concluded G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, was keenly observed in India. The two-day summit saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchange courtesies — a big deal considering the two leaders have not met for bilateral discussions since 2020. Also, on November 16, Modi was handed over the presidency of the intergovernmental forum by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
As photos and videos from the summit flooded social media, pictures from one particular meeting received much attention. These featured French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, among others, sitting at a table. Modi was not present at the meeting, and thus was missing from the photos.
A lot of hay has been made about the absence of Modi in this meeting by his critics. “Biden called an emergency meeting at #G20 - India’s so-called Vishwaguru Modi is missing,” read one such tweet. Another asked , “Where is Vishwaguru?”. The Sanskrit term “Vishwaguru” roughly translates to “world leader” and is often used by supporters of Modi to praise him and by his detractors to mock him. The implication of such tweets here is that while the PM positions himself as a global statesman, he was ignored for this seemingly crucial meeting of world leaders.
Biden called an emergency meeting at #G20 - India’s so-called Vishwaguru Modi is missing! pic.twitter.com/PSkLlLLz7x — Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) November 16, 2022
Archives of similar tweets can be found here, here, here and here.
Looking into the facts, we found that the exclusion of Modi from this meeting has nothing to do about his stature on the global stage.
WHAT WAS THE MEETING ABOUT?
According to news reports, on November 15, a missile struck the village of Przewod³w in Poland, near the border with Ukraine. The incident occurred amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy facilities. In its aftermath, an emergency meeting was convened by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the intergovernmental political forum G7 who were present at Bali during the G20 Summit. At the time of this meeting, it was suspected that Russia was now also attacking Poland — a development that can escalate geopolitical tensions further.
Following this emergency meeting in Bali, the White House and the Council of the European Union issued a joint statement signed by the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, the European Council, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Earlier, I met with G20 and NATO Leaders to discuss the explosion in Eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border.
We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. pic.twitter.com/KZcWZBo4VI — President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
It said, “We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.” The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to “hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities, even as the G20 meets to deal with the wider impacts of the war.”
It’s noteworthy that Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov left Bali a day ahead of the scheduled conclusion of the G20 Summit. Lavrov took the flight home apparently hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky virtually addressed the leaders, repeatedly referring to them as the G19 and calling for the war to end "justly".
WHO ATTENDED THE MEETING?
According to Reuters, the people present in the photo were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and European Council President Charles Michel.
WHY WAS MODI NOT THERE?
Modi was not part of the meeting because India is not a part of either NATO or G7. NATO has thirty members and representatives from all member countries were not present at the meeting. This is because it was an emergency meeting that was called during the G20 Summit and several NATO members were not in Bali by virtue of not being part of the G20.
G7 members include Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Japan, Canada, the U.S., and the European Union. This is why Japan, which is not part of NATO, was present at the meeting.
WHAT IS INDIA'S POSITION ON RUSSIA AND UKRAINE?
India has largely kept its position neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and abstained from resolutions against Moscow. Most recently on November 14, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law India was among the 73 countries that abstained from the voting.
Thus, it is clear that Narendra Modi was not excluded from the meeting as a rebuff to either India or the Prime Minister.
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