India will stress on the importance of multi-lateralism at the G-20 Summit in Osaka in Japan and will make a case for strengthening of the World Trade Organization (WTO), former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu, who would be India’s Sherpa at the meet, has said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the G-20 summit from June 27 to 29, which will see participation from the heads of states of the 20-member countries and other invitees.

“This would be the sixth time that Prime Minister Modi would be participating in the summit. He would hold bilateral (discussions) and participate in plurilateral meetings which would be announced closer to the date,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a briefing on Friday.

Earlier, the MEA had indicated that Modi and US President Donald Trump are likely to meet at the sidelines of the G-20 meet.

G-20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US.

The Osaka meet is in the global spotlight also because Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping are expected to hold a bilateral meeting that could decide the way the on-going trade war between the two countries is going to progress in the future.

Addressing the media, Prabhu said that G-20 members will be strongly discussing reform of multi-lateralism at the meet. “Multilateralism has to be a way of life and has to be a very strong way. We want the WTO to be strengthened and that should be the forum through which global trade must be regulated,” he said.

The future of the WTO, at present, is under strain with the US stopping the appointment of new judges at the Appellate Body of the organisation. From December 2019, the Appellate Body, which decides on appeals against WTO panel judgments by members, will not be able to function as its strength will be reduced to one judge against the mandatory three.

Other issues to be discussed at the G-20 meet would include energy and environment and infrastructure, he added.

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