G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting: 'Focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us', says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called upon the G20 countries to build consensus on pressing global challenges and not allow differences on geopolitical tensions to affect overall cooperation, in comments that came amid a bitter rift within the grouping on the Ukraine conflict.

In his video message at the G20 foreign ministers meeting, Modi also referred to Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha and urged the delegates to draw inspiration from India's civilisational ethos to "focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us".

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The foreign ministers from the world's largest industrialised and developing nations gathered to hold crucial deliberations on key global challenges at the meeting which many diplomats believed could be a contentious one as it is taking place amid increasing rift between the US-led West and the Russia-China combine on the Ukraine conflict.

The prime minister said the world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, trans-national crime, corruption; terrorism, and food and energy security.

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In all these areas, the G20 has capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results. We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,? Modi said without making any reference to the Ukraine conflict or any other contentious issues.

As you meet in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha, I pray that you will draw inspiration from India's civilisational ethos - to focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us, Modi said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, China's Qin Gang, the UK's James Cleverly and European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell Fontelles are among those attending the meeting chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

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