Ukraine prez Zelenskyy dials PM Modi; wishes India a successful G-20 Presidency

Zelenskyy had a phone call with PM Modi and wished him a successful G20 presidency.

New Delhi, Dec 26: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said that he had a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wished India a successful G20 presidency.

Zelenskyy, on Twitter, wrote, "I had a phone call with PM Modi & wished a successful G20 presidency. It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India's participation in its implementation. I also thanked for humanitarian aid and support in the UN."

During the call, PM Modi explained the main priorities of India's G20 Presidency, including giving a voice to the concerns of developing nations on issues like food and energy security, a statement from his office said.

The two leaders discussed opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister requested Ukraine authorities to facilitate arrangements for the continued education of Indian students who had to return from Ukraine earlier this year, it said.

"The leaders also exchanged views about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi strongly reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and said that both sides should revert to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to their differences. Prime Minister also conveyed India's support for any peace efforts, and assured India's commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance for affected civilian population," the statement concluded.

India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The issues of food and energy securities will be among the major objectives for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India formally assumed the Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20).

Guided by PM Modi's vision, the foreign policy of India has been evolving to undertake leadership roles on the global stage, a statement from his office said. In that direction, the country assumed G20 Presidency on Thursday, which allows India to contribute to the global agenda on pressing issues of international importance.

As India began its G-20 presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it will work to further promote oneness, inspired by the theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future", and listed terror, climate change, pandemic as the greatest challenges that can be best fought together.

India's G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow-travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard, he said, according to a PTI report. India's G20 agenda will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive, he added. "Let us join together to make India's G20 Presidency a Presidency of healing, harmony and hope. Let us work together to shape a new paradigm - of human-centric globalisation," he said in an article which appeared in several newspapers and was posted on his website too.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).

Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for dialogue and diplomacy between the warring nations - Russia and Ukraine.

Recently, PM Modi had a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin where he reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the "only way forward" in the context of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the statement released by PMO.