Modi proves a triple winner at G20

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi captured attention at least three times during the Group of 20 summit.

Criticism by the US Democratic Party of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud - popularly known as MBS - has resulted in him drifting his country's ties away from Washington.

Modi managed to get MBS and US President Joe Biden to shake hands, with himself forming the third part of a triangle, in front of a Reuters photographer.

That image was difficult to foresee at a time when the Riyadh-Washington relationship is at such a low.

Will MBS soften his hard-line position on oil production and work to ease global oil prices following the handshake?

The Indian prime minister then pulled off a summit declaration which - although once considered impossible in light of the diverse interests the members - stopped short of condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine by name.

The declaration represented a setback for Ukraine.

That being said, it was a compromise that serves as an example of international politics. India could not be expected to host a summit that would condemn Russia in light of its ties with the then-Soviet Union and the country today.

The wording in reference to Russia's aggression against Ukraine was truly wishy-washy despite post-declaration comments by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to try to pump it up for their audiences back home.

It appears that Sunak must be rather illiterate as he asserted that the declaration used "very strong language about Russia's illegal war in Ukraine."

That government heads were willing to give up on differences to make a consensus declaration possible was a sign that they are treating India as a growing power in the region. In more layman's language, they tried to befriend Modi.

And the Reuters photo of MBS, Biden and Modi forming a triangle was the most powerful illustration of all.

Nonetheless, the limelight of the summit declaration was later stolen by the sideshow of a multinational rail and ports deal to link up the Middle East and South Asia.

It is for valid reasons that greater public attention is being given to the rail and ports agreement.

The deal signed by the US, India, Saudi Arabia, European Union, United Arab Emirates and other G20 partners is perceived to compete directly with China's Belt and Road strategy pushed by President Xi Jinping.

No details have been given yet in respect of the railway and ports agreement.

However, the deal conceived to link Middle East countries by railway and connect them to India by port has drawn together the world's richest, most powerful and most populous countries.

As with China's Belt and Road initiative, such a program can be extremely expensive as low and middle-income countries along the way would expect to be subsidized by the rich.

The idea did not suddenly come out of the blue. Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo raised the Indo-Pacific strategy, and the railway and port announcement may be viewed as an expansion of his strategy.

It can be imagined that the rivalry between China and India is going up heat up.