NEW DELHI/TOKYO -- After months of buildup, India hosted this year's Group of 20 summit on Saturday and Sunday in New Delhi, pulling out all the stops to welcome world leaders and cement its status as a rising power on the global stage.
The heart of the capital was in full summit mode -- the most visible indications being the heavy presence of armed security forces and police barricades, and ubiquitous G20 decorations and billboards, many of them featuring the face of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Here's an on-the-ground look at India's -- and Modi's -- big moment.
The run-up -- Sept. 7-8
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Hundreds of stray dogs that roam the streets of the Indian capital Delhi were being rounded up by authorities and moved to shelters ahead of the G20 summit, according to animal rights activists and Reuters witnesses.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Armed security personnel prepare to guard the summit and lock down parts of the capital.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Security measures included closing the road to Delhi's India Gate. The historic area was recently renovated.
Day 1 -- Sept. 9
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A sign in Hindi reads "Stop" at an intersection on a closed road leading to the G20 summit venue in New Delhi. Authorities' strict countermeasures against terrorism and other threats at times snarled traffic.
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Paramilitary forces patrol the old quarters of Delhi. Ahead of the summit, a police official told Nikkei Asia that about 130,000 security personnel, including paramilitary troops, had been deployed to maintain law and order.
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Billboards showing Modi and highlighting various G20 objectives are plastered all over central New Delhi.
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A Russian government plane sits on the tarmac at Indira Gandhi International Airport, the gateway to New Delhi. The G20 includes leading industrialized nations and emerging economies that together account for a large share of the world's population and global economic power. But the presence of Western allies as well as Russia and China makes for a tense atmosphere.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Modi shows U.S. President Joe Biden a mural of a Konark Sun Temple wheel, from the Indian state of Odisha, upon arrival at the Bharat Mandapam convention center for the G20 summit.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the summit in place of President Xi Jinping, who was conspicuously absent.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Modi hugs Azali Assoumani of the African Union upon welcoming the group as a permanent G20 member.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Modi opens the summit on Sept. 9 with a nameplate that says "Bharat" rather than "India," as his government promotes use of the country's Hindi name despite criticism from domestic opposition parties.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Modi opens the first working session at the summit, under the theme "One Earth." Leaders reached a consensus on a joint statement on the first day, after softening language concerning the war in Ukraine.
© Pool/Reuters U.S. President Biden, Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clasp hands as they attend the launch of a Global Biofuels Alliance during the summit.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rides a golf cart after attending a news conference on the summit sidelines.
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The G20 venue is illuminated at night, an eye-catching display for India's big event.
Day 2 -- Sept. 10
© Pool photo/ReutersA view through glass at the Raj Ghat memorial ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden on Sept. 10: Modi accompanied G20 leaders to the complex dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, renowned as a hero of India's independence movement.
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A police officer with a sniffer dog inspects the International Media Centre during the summit.
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty visit the Akshardham Hindu Temple in New Delhi. The G20 summit is the first to be held in India and South Asia, while Sunak is the first British leader of Indian heritage.
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Police officers guard barricades on a deserted road on the second and final day of the summit.
(Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Biden visits the Raj Ghat memorial with Modi and other G20 leaders.
© Pool photo/Reuters Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the previous G20 host, stands next to Modi and Biden at Raj Ghat.
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Biden boards Air Force One as he departs India for Vietnam.
