Bali: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other world leaders, visited and planted mangroves in Bali's largest mangrove forest Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit here on Wednesday.
Modi is in Bali to attend the G20 summit which opened here on Tuesday. Modi was welcomed at the summit venue by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, ahead of the formal opening of the summit.
He had informal interactions with US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and several other global leaders on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit.
"PM @narendramodi and other G20 leaders visited a mangrove forest in Bali, giving a strong message of coming together to tackle climate change and boost sustainable development. India has also joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
"With G-20 leaders at the Mangrove Forest in Bali," Modi tweeted.
Mangroves play an important role in global conservation efforts. India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), a joint initiative of Indonesia and the UAE under the Indonesian G-20 presidency, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
More than 50 mangrove species can be found spread over 5,000 sq km in India. India is placing emphasis on the protection and restoration of mangroves, which are rich sites of biodiversity and serve as effective carbon sinks, it said.
Modi was joined by other world leaders, including US President Biden and French President Macron, in mangrove planting. The leaders, all in light coloured clothes, gathered to plants groves in what an announcer said was a symbolic commitment to countering a warming climate.
Each leader was led to a baby mangrove for the planting. The leaders then followed detailed instructions about feed bags and planting holes for the baby mangroves.
The leaders heard about different species of mangroves and how long they can live (up to 100 years). Biden walked next to Modi as they listened to Indonesia's President Joko Widodo’s presentation. Widodo was telling them that the forest has 150 types of mangrove species.
The leaders walked through a greenhouse and held a round of applause for mangrove planters before ending their tour.
In his address at the G20 summit on Tuesday, Modi said that climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, the developments in Ukraine and the global problems associated with it have caused havoc in the world and rued that the global supply chains are in "ruins".
India will assume G20 Presidency for one year, beginning December 1, 2022. The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).
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