00:00 India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to amplify the voice of the so-called global
00:04 south.
00:05 For more, let's speak to our very own François Piccard.
00:08 Hello to you, François.
00:10 The G20 will be a test of India's geopolitical clout.
00:14 Tell us just how big of an opportunity is this for the country?
00:20 A huge opportunity.
00:21 It's also a huge opportunity for its Prime Minister, whose face you can see all over
00:28 town.
00:29 Here you have one of the many slogans, "Giving voice to the global south, making G20 a catalyst
00:37 for global change."
00:38 There's different slogans and different pictures of Narendra Modi.
00:41 Yes, there are elections coming up next spring, and this certainly is a springboard.
00:46 Now, William, you don't usually associate the capital of the world's most populous nation
00:53 with empty streets.
00:54 And yet, here we are, empty streets and empty bus stops as well.
01:00 This city is under tight restrictions for the next three days.
01:06 We spoke earlier with one rickshaw driver in the heart of the historic Karnak Circle
01:11 district, who said to us, "Yes, he's going to lose money over the weekend.
01:16 It's a public holiday that's been declared.
01:19 But if it furthers the gains of the country in the long run, he's all for it.
01:25 He took it," he said, "with a smile."
01:28 And Francois, so often as a case, a lot of what is important here happens on the sidelines.
01:33 Narendra Modi meeting Joe Biden.
01:37 Any idea what they'll be discussing?
01:40 Well, certainly it's not the first time they've met.
01:44 We all remember recently that state banquet at the White House.
01:47 And Narendra Modi and Joe Biden is the main event of the buildup to Saturday summits taking
01:52 place shortly here in New Delhi.
01:56 And you wonder, when you look at the optics of it, the pair have a lot to discuss when
02:01 it comes to security in the Indo-Pacific, when it comes to trade, whether or not it's
02:07 going to be the India that is, again, as we saw in that poster, the champion of the global
02:12 south as it touts itself, or if it is now one of the superpowers alongside the aforementioned
02:20 countries Russia and China.
02:23 All right, Francois, thank you very much.
02:25 Francois Picard reporting from New Delhi.
02:27 He will be leading France 24 special coverage of the G20 from 7.10pm Paris time.
