Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs Shri V. Muraleedharan was represented India at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) in Rio de Janeiro on 21-22 February 2024. The G20 Foreign Ministers have been meeting as a group since 2012, and the FMM in Rio would be its 10th meeting. Over the years, the G20 FMM has grown in importance and has become a valuable forum for discussions on a range of international issues and related matters of shared concern among G20 Members.
Brazil assumed the G20 Presidency from India on 1 December 2023, and the G20 FMM was the first Ministerial meeting under the Brazilian Presidency.
India is currently a member of the G20 Troika together with Brazil and South Africa, and has conveyed its support to Brazil’s G20 priorities, under the theme ‘Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet’, viz., (i) social inclusion and fight against hunger and poverty; (ii) energy transitions and sustainable development; and (iii) global governance reforms. All working groups and mechanisms of India’s G20 Presidency are continuing under the Brazilian Presidency. A new Working Group on Empowerment of Women and a new Engagement Group “Judiciary 20” have also been added by Brazil.
During his visit, MoS Shri V. Muraleedharan was participated in both FMM sessions, first on “G20’s role in dealing with ongoing international tensions”, and second on “Global governance reform”. He was also attended the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 22 February 2024. On the sidelines of the FMM, he held bilateral meetings with partner countries from the Global South.