India’s top official organising this week’s Group of 20 summit has insisted that agreement on a final communique is within reach, despite geopolitical friction that has plagued the build-up and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s decision to stay away.Amitabh Kant said New Delhi aimed to push the fractured forum of big economies towards consensus on a leaders’ declaration at next week’s summit, including language on the Russia-Ukraine war that has been opposed by Moscow and Beijing.

“We will attempt to bring a consensus amongst all parties, amongst all the G20 parties,” Kant, the summit ‘sherpa’ for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, told the Financial Times. “And that is necessary for the future of the G20.”

As this year’s G20 chair, India will host leaders including US president Joe Biden at the summit on September 9-10 in New Delhi. Modi’s government wants to raise India’s international profile and advance an agenda with a sharp focus on developing countries’ needs, in its role as a self-styled leader of the global south.