Several G20 Summits in past have seen Heads of State & govts skipping meet
Russia and Mexico skipping the G20 Summit in India a closer look at the past summits revealed that not Heads of State among the members have always attended all Summits. While Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to PM Narendra Modi and announced that he would skip the Summit, it is widely believed that Presidents of China and Mexico will be the other absentees.
As is evident, the level of attendance at global summits varies from year to year. In today's world with so many demands on the leaders' time, it is not always possible for every leader to attend every summit, sources pointed out.
From time to time, many leaders skip summits for their own reasons. The most glaring example is the 2021 G20 Summit in Italy where there was no major geopolitical or health reason for leaders to skip it, but the circumstances happened in such a way that six countries attended below Head of State(HOS)/ Head of Government (HOG )level. These things do not reflect anything about the host country, sources said.
From 2008, there have been 16 physical summits of the G20, and one virtual summit (Saudi Arabia, 2020). There were two summits each in 2009 and 2010.
Out of these 16 physical summits, except the first three summits in 2008 and 2009, there has never been a single occasion from 2010 till now when every country has attended at HOS/HOG level.
Six times there was one country below HOS/HOG: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 & 2017. Five times there were two countries below HOS/HOG: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018 & 2019. One time there were three countries below HOS/HOG: 2022. One time there were six countries below HOS/HOG: 2021 (before Ukraine, after Covid)
Details of country wise participation in G-20 summits
Never below HOS/HOG: Canada, Germany,
