PM Lee attends G-20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali from Nov 14 to 16

NUSA DUA, Indonesia - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is attending the

Group of 20 (G-20) Leaders’ Summit

in Bali from Monday to Wednesday and will take part in discussions with world leaders on global issues.

He will participate in sessions on food and energy security, as well as health and digital transformation, at the annual multilateral forum, on the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current chairman of the G-20. 

PM Lee is also expected to have bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the summit – the second one to be held in-person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, following last year’s meetings in Rome.

Singapore is not a member of the G-20 but is regularly invited to take part in its meetings, especially as the convener of the Global Governance Group, an informal grouping of 30 small- and medium-sized members of the United Nations.

Indonesia, which is holding the G-20 presidency for the first time, will lead discussions on post-pandemic recovery under the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger.

Originally founded in 1999 as a forum to address economic challenges, the G-20 consists of the world’s largest economies. The 20 members represent more than 80 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product and about two-thirds of the global population. 

The G-20 summit in 2022 is set to be overshadowed by growing geopolitical rifts caused by the fallout of the war in Ukraine and US-China tensions.

At least 17 state leaders are expected to attend the high-level forum, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. They met in person for the first time on Monday since Mr Biden took office in January 2021.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend,

and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to take his place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely attend virtually. 

Other leaders attending include British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take over as chairman of the G-20 in December.

PM Lee is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and other senior government officials. 

Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will be the Acting Prime Minister in PM Lee’s absence, said the Prime Minister’s Office.