Tokyo, 28 February, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will likely skip a meeting with his Group of 20 counterparts in India this week due to a scheduling conflict with a Diet session, a ruling party source said Monday.
Hayashi hoped to join the two-day G20 foreign ministerial gathering from Wednesday, as Japan is slated to host a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hayashi must attend a parliamentary session later this week for a fiscal 2023 budget, a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said. It is customary for all ministers to participate in the session.
A government official of India, which holds the G20 presidency in 2023, said Hayashi’s absence is “unbelievable” because New Delhi sees collaboration between the G7 and the G20 vital for addressing the Ukraine crisis and other global challenges.
A senior vice foreign minister is planning to participate in the New Delhi meeting on Hayashi’s behalf, according to Japanese government sources.
Hayashi had regarded the G20 gathering as an opportunity to pave the way for the success of the G7 summit, the sources said, adding he had arranged some bilateral talks with top diplomats from other nations.
The G20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
