- Sunday, February 23, 2025
Addressing the virtual G20 summit, the Indian prime minister said he “welcomed” the news of the release of Israeli hostages in a truce deal between the Jewish state and Hamas.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (22) said it is important to ensure that the deadly conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant outfit Hamas did not escalate into a regional war and said despite the “difficulties”, the world could still strive towards achieving peace.
Modi, who backed Israel on more than one occasion after Hamas’s coordinated strikes on Israel in October triggered the conflict that has caused a massive humanitarian crisis, said new challenges have come up in the last few months and the “situation of insecurity and instability in the West Asia region was a matter of concern”.
Delivering my remarks at the @g20org Virtual Summit. https://t.co/u19xStkZX7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 22, 2023
Addressing the virtual G20 summit, the Indian prime minister said he “welcomed” the news of the release of Israeli hostages in a truce deal between the Jewish state and Hamas.
He also highlighted that the “death of civilians, wherever it takes place, is condemnable”.
Modi’s support for Israel on social media platform X saw a backlash in India’s domestic politics as many accused his government of abandoning India’s traditional policy towards Israel and Palestine. The Indian external affairs ministry, however, came up with a more balanced stance on the issue, favouring the co-existence of the two sides peacefully.
Modi also touched upon the challenge thrown by deepfake videos on social media, calling for “global regulations for artificial intelligence”.
“The world is worried about the negative effects of AI. India thinks that we have to work together on the global regulations for AI. Understanding how dangerous deepfakes are for society and individuals, we need to work forward. We want AI to reach the people, it must be safe for society,” he said.
He also spoke about the Global South saying its nations were facing many difficulties for which they are not responsible.
“It is the need of the hour to support the development agenda. Global economic and governance structures have to be made bigger, better, more effective, representative and future ready through reforms,” he said.
