NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥 India鈥檚 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed a cease-fire in Gaza that's expected to enable the release of dozens of hostages taken by Hamas, and urged leaders of the top rich and developing nations to work together to ensure the Israel-Hamas war doesn't expand.
Hosting a virtual meeting of leaders, Modi said the hostages should be released and humanitarian assistance expedited. has the G20 presidency for 2023.
"Terrorism is not acceptable and civilians鈥 death is condemnable,鈥 he said.
Israel and Hamas in the war in Gaza 鈥 a breakthrough that will facilitate the release of dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, and bring a large influx of aid to the besieged territory, officials said Wednesday. The truce raised hopes of eventually winding down the war, which was triggered by Hamas鈥 Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and China鈥檚 Premier Li Qiang represented their countries at the virtual summit.
President Joe Biden attended the September G20 meeting in New Delhi that added the African Union as a member. Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped both the September G20 summit and Wednesday's virtual summit.
Russia鈥檚 President Vladimir Putin and Canada鈥檚 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attending the virtual summit.
Putin in his speech pointed to shifts on the global stage to argue that the world is going through a process of radical transformation with 鈥渘ew, powerful centers of global economic development emerging and strengthening.鈥
鈥淭urbulence in the markets is increasing, chronic problems in the international financial sector, energy and food security are worsening,鈥 he said.
Putin noted the criticism of Russia鈥檚 action in Ukraine but sought to deflect attention from it by pointing at civilian suffering in the Israel-Hamas war.
鈥淵es, of course, military actions are always a tragedy for specific people, specific families and the country as a whole,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd, of course, we must think about how to stop this tragedy.鈥
鈥淭he war and the loss of life can鈥檛 but cause shock,鈥 Putin continued. 鈥淏ut isn鈥檛 anyone shocked by the extermination of civilians in Palestine, in Gaza today? Isn鈥檛 anyone shocked about doctors forced to perform operations on children and use a scalpel on children鈥檚 bodies without anesthesia?鈥
Modi urged the G20 leaders to push for effective implementation of various decisions made at their September summit in New Delhi. Those include climate financing, reforms of multinational development banks and work on the creation of a framework for ethical and artificial intelligence as well as developing a common framework for digital public infrastructure.
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the U.S. administration has asked Congress to increase World Bank financing by more than $25 billion and Germany has pledged $331 million in hybrid capital that can be used by the World Bank to increase lending over the next 10 years.
Other issues critical to developing countries include alternative fuels like hydrogen, resource efficiency and food security.
Modi announced the creation of a social impact fund with an initial contribution of $25 million to help developing countries meet sustainable development goals. He urged other countries to join the initiative.
鈥淎rtificial intelligence should reach the people and it must be safe for the society,鈥 Modi said. He invited all G20 member countries to attend a Global AI summit in New Delhi next month.
India is promoting itself as a bridge to the developing world and a rising global player. Ahead of the G20 virtual summit, Modi held a similar meeting with 130 leaders of mostly developing countries.
India鈥檚 G20 presidency ends on Nov. 30 and the baton is being passed to Brazil for 2024.
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Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report from Moscow.
