'Countries to decide...': S Jaishankar on Xi Jinping's absence at G20 Summit

Speaking over Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence from the virtual G20 Summit, EAM S Jaishankar has said it is up to each country to decide its representative.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking about Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence from the virtual G20 Summit, has said it is for the country to decide who represents it. "It's for a country to decide who represents them, and Prime Minister Li Qiang had represented them at the G20 New Delhi Summit as well, so they chose to continue with that," the External Affairs Minister said, during the G20 closing presser on Wednesday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking about Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence from the virtual G20 Summit, has said it is for the country to decide who represents it. "It's for a country to decide who represents them, and Prime Minister Li Qiang had represented them at the G20 New Delhi Summit as well, so they chose to continue with that," the External Affairs Minister said, during the G20 closing presser on Wednesday. G20 members on the whole welcome the understanding that has been reached on the release of hostages, the flow of relief material to Gaza and some pause in the fighting.""So overall, there was a strong sentiment expressed by the leaders to ensure implementation of the commitments that were agreed to," the External Affairs Minister added. The virtual G20 Summit was held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It saw the unanimous adoption of the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration, which demonstrated the commitment of the G20 leaders to address global challenges in an inclusive, decisive and action-oriented manner.