Daily News Brief

September 8, 2023

Top of the Agenda

Leaders of the world’s largest economies will gather in New Delhi, India, this weekend for the annual Group of Twenty (G20) summit. They are expected to discuss global challenges (Bloomberg) including climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and mounting debt in low-income countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend.

As host, India has cast itself (WSJ) as a voice for emerging economies while highlighting its ability to bridge geopolitical gaps, and has pledged to “make the global table larger.” The group will reportedly admit (Reuters) the fifty-five-member African Union as a permanent member, giving it the same status as the European Union, the only other bloc with G20 membership. In the lead-up to the conference, negotiators neared agreement on a joint statement that addressed all issues but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Analysis

“The G20 might have lost its luster as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, but still has a potentially useful role to play,” CFR President Mike Froman writes in Fortune. “It will be up to India to make the most of the next summit–and the United States to demonstrate that it can navigate the changing dynamics of a rapidly changing international system with skill and sophistication.”

“India will need to carefully navigate its existing partnerships in order to produce cooperation and any modicum of consensus on a diplomatic and development agenda that aligns with India’s professed position as a mediator between the Global North and the Global South,” CFR expert Manjari Chatterjee Miller writes for the Asia Unbound blog. “If [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi can pull this off, it will certainly cement India’s declared position. If not, India’s claims may ring hollow in the future.”

This Backgrounder by Anshu Siripurapu and CFR’s Noah Berman and James McBride examines the role of the G20.

Pacific Rim

The rain caused widespread flooding, submerging city streets and subway stations. The city’s weather observatory recorded an hourly rainfall (AFP) of 158.1 millimeters, the highest since records began in 1884.

China: The country expanded its recently imposed restrictions against using iPhones and other Apple products to include employees of local governments and state-owned companies in addition to central government officials, Nikkei reported.  

South and Central Asia

Ahead of the G20 summit this weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold (The Hindu) bilateral meetings today with U.S. President Joe Biden as well as the leaders of Bangladesh and Mauritius. Biden and Modi are expected to discuss trade and cooperation on jet engines and drones. Modi is set to host more than fifteen such meetings over the next three days. 

Middle East and North Africa

The talks are focused on building a system (Axios) of ports and railways linking the Middle East and India; the four countries hope to ink the agreement this weekend at the G20 summit. It comes as the United States seeks broader cooperation with Saudi Arabia on an Israeli normalization deal and to counter China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative.

Lebanon: At least twenty people were wounded when clashes broke out (AP) overnight between rival groups in the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Islamist militants affiliated with al-Qaeda killed (NYT) at least forty-nine civilians and fifteen soldiers yesterday in separate attacks on a passenger ferry and military camp in northern Mali, the government said. The army said it killed about fifty assailants.

Gabon: The ruling military government appointed (Bloomberg) former opposition leader Raymond Ndong Sima as transitional prime minister. Sima served as prime minister under deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba, later becoming critical of his administration.

Europe

The November event will be aimed at helping (Bloomberg) “vulnerable people and economies” harmed by rising food prices, United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said. The announcement follows Russia’s decision to pull out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which sent food prices soaring and raised concerns about grain exports from Ukraine.

This In Brief by CFR’s Kali Robinson looks at which countries are affected the most by Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal. 

Ukraine: A Russian air strike killed three civilians (The Guardian) in a village in Kherson today, Ukraine’s interior minister said. The attack came hours after a missile strike killed a policeman and wounded at least fifty-two others in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Americas

Germán Rivera, a former Colombian soldier, pleaded guilty (FT) yesterday to a charge of conspiracy to kill and kidnap former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. He faces life in prison.

This Backgrounder by Rocio Cara Labrador and CFR’s Diana Roy traces Haiti’s troubled path to development.

Cuba: Authorities said yesterday that they had arrested (Reuters) seventeen people in connection with a human trafficking ring that allegedly lured Cubans into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

United States

Senior U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled yesterday (FT) that they would keep interest rates steady at their meeting later this month, but indicated that they could continue raising rates later this year.

Friday Editor’s Pick

Mapping Diversity uses interactive data visualizations to explore diversity and representation—and the stark lack of it—in urban communities across Europe. 

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