World leaders gather in Brazil for G20 summit amid global tensions

World leaders have arrived in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 Summit, hosted by Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The summit comes at a challenging time, with ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the recent U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump.

Brazil has welcomed leaders such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Russian President Vladimir Putin is absent, represented instead by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The summit is expected to focus on social issues, including Lula's proposal for a Global Alliance Against Hunger, a key priority for Brazil. However, global tensions and differing national interests may hinder consensus on contentious issues like the wars or a proposed global tax on the superrich.

Lula’s leadership marks a return to Brazil's traditional nonaligned diplomacy, with the leftist president emphasizing peace, poverty eradication, and environmental protection. Yet, some of his foreign policy moves, such as his stance on the Gaza conflict, have sparked controversy.