Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
The G20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18-19, 2024, became a focal point for international diplomacy, with one of the most notable occurrences being the apparent disregard of U.S. President Joe Biden by the leaders of the world’s major economies. According to The New York Times, while Biden expressed confidence in the progress achieved by the G20, it was clear that the other leaders were already moving ahead without him.
The U.S. president, who acknowledged that this could be his last G20 summit due to the upcoming U.S. elections, pointed to the strides made by the group in global economic cooperation. Despite his optimistic remarks, Biden’s position seemed less influential as the summit progressed.
At one point, as Biden made his way to the platform for a group photo, most of the world leaders had already left, leaving him out of the iconic photo moment. This incident highlighted the growing gap between Biden’s ambitions and the shifting focus of G20 leaders.
While Biden tried to push his foreign policy goals during the summit, it became evident that many of the leaders had already shifted their attention toward Donald Trump, the presumptive candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. The Politico news outlet reported that Trump’s name was notably absent from many of the speeches and discussions, including those of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron, who seemed keen to avoid engaging with Trump’s potential return to power.
This shift in focus marks a significant moment in international politics as Biden’s influence wanes and global leaders increasingly look beyond the current U.S. administration.
