As US First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said that even President Joe Biden was kept under observation for this week ahead of the G20 Summit in Delhi. However, now the US president is all set to travel to India to attend the global leaders meeting as he has tested negative for the virus.This announcement comes a day after Bidens wife Jill (72) tested positive on Monday. Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wifes positive test, but his results were negative.US President Biden tests Covid negative again, will travel to India for G20 Summit: White HouseRead @ANI Story | https://t.co/pvpbvrrBgK#US #Biden #G20 #India #WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/kykFLYXxg1— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) September 5, 2023Joe Biden tests negative for COVID-19Briefing about Bidens current health update, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told media at a White House news conference, “On Thursday, the President will travel to New Delhi to attend the G20 leaders summit.”“On Friday, President Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi” and on Saturday and Sunday, he will participate in the official sessions of the G20 summit, he said.The NSA added that as Biden “heads to the G20 summit, he is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together.”What will be on agenda of G20 Summit“Thats what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend. The United States commitment to the G20 hasnt wavered and we hope this G20 summit will show that the worlds major economies can work together even in challenging times,” Sullivan said.Speaking on the key focus of the G20 Summit, he said that the Summit is going to be on delivering for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology and showing our commitment to the G20 as a forum that can actually deliver.US hails PM Modis leadership under G20 presidencyHailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NSA said, “And thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Indias presidency, we hope well be able to do all of those things.”Since the US First Lady got COVID-19, there was a big dilemma about whether Joe Biden would travel to India or not. However, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that there is no change in Bidens travel plans and the president would be tested at regular intervals before his trip to India.The president tested negative last night for COVID-19 and tested negative again on Tuesday.US presidents health update“Hes not experiencing any symptoms as far as the steps that he is taking since the President was with the First Lady yesterday. He will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance,” she said.“And as has been the practice in the past, the President will remove his mask when sufficiently at a distance from others indoors and while outside as well. The CDC guidelines recommend a combination of masking testing and monitoring for symptoms. The President is doing all of that in current and close consultation with his physician,” she added.Later, Sullivan said that the US president has worked to rebuild the American economy from the bottom up in the middle out by making smart investments in the industries of the future while tackling climate change and empowering workers. And those investments are paying off.“We think countries around the world too, can benefit from a similar type of approach, and that we can help them as well by mobilising investment to support them in tackling the challenges that they face. And thats one of our main focuses in the G20,” he said.The US, he said, is also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.“We believe that the African Unions voice will make the G20 stronger,” Sullivan said.G20 will also focus…Adding more key focuses, the NSA said G20 will be delivering on an agenda of fundamentally reshaping and scaling up the multilateral development banks, especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).“We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools that we have for mobilising transparent, high-quality investment into developing countries,” he said.“Just last month, President Biden asked Congress for additional funds that would have the impact of increasing World Bank financing by more than USD25 billion. We are working to make sure that other partners follow our lead…we hope the G-20 endorses this level of ambition and delivers a broader vision of multilateral development banks that are better, bigger and more effective,” the NSA added.Moreover, President Biden is also planning to call on G20 members as leaders in the global economy to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of extreme stress, he said.
