Sat. Dec 7th, 2024

Biden misses ‘family photo’ at his last G20 summit

By 37ci3 Nov19,2024


No pictures finished President Joe Biden.

The late American leader arrived for a family photo with world leaders during the final Group of 20 summit on Monday, only to find the photo was taken without him.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were among those who did, smiling and raising their hands for the traditional summit set piece.

A high-ranking US official attributed the chaos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to logistical difficulties.

“Due to logistical issues, all the leaders took a family photo before arriving. So, a number of leaders were not actually there when the photo was taken,” said a high-ranking official who did not wish to be named.

Immediately after the photo was taken, Biden was nowhere to be found until photographers and reporters began frantically searching for him.

A cameraman spotted him behind a nearby palm tree with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Trudeau and Meloni also avoided the photo.

When asked if Biden intentionally dropped the photo to avoid standing next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the official dismissed the idea, saying, “It’s just logistical issues.”

G20 Summit Rio de Janeiro 2024 - Day One
Biden with world leaders at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.Buddha Mendes/Getty Images

During the first session of the summit on Sunday, Biden reflected on her Expected departure from the White House.

“As you know, this is my last G20 Summit. We’ve made progress together, but I urge you to continue — and I’m sure you will, regardless of my insistence,” he said.

A senior aide acknowledged on Monday that many nations were already expecting very different global leadership from President-elect Donald Trump, but stressed that Biden was fully in charge.

“We have a system that is basically built on one president at a time,” said Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser. “President Biden is that president, he will hand over power in January and the new administration will decide what to do with it.”

On Sunday, Biden himself acknowledged that his time in office is limited.

“It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January,” Biden said. “I will lay a solid foundation for my heritage and my country, if they will.”

The G20 Summit is attended by the heads of state or government of 19 member countries and two regional organizations: the African Union and the European Union.

According to the Forum, member countries account for about 85% of world GDP, more than 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

The G20 was created in 1999 in response to the Asian financial crisis and initially functioned as a forum for finance ministers and central bank officials to discuss economic stability.

After that, it became a high-level meeting of heads of state.



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By 37ci3

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