India takes helm of G20
NEW DELHI: India is assuming the G20 presidency under challenging circumstances and will push the world’s biggest economies to find collective solutions to issues such as climate change and multilateral reforms even while highlighting the concerns of developing nations, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.
In a tacit reference to India’s differences with China, Jaishankar said India is well placed to manage contradictions and divergent agendas because of its independent foreign policy and ability to find common ground with different players. He made the remarks while addressing “University Connect”, an effort to involve young people in the country’s G20 presidency that began on December 1.
India, he said, is taking on a crucial responsibility at a “very challenging time in world politics” and an inflection point in its own history. In this context, he cited the economic devastation and human toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, which aggravated the financial situation of developing countries, undermined pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals and created a “health divide”.
In addition, countries are dealing with impacts of the
Ukraine conflict, including shortage and high prices of fuel, food and fertilisers, and the longterm effects of extreme climate events. He also referred to divisions caused by the Ukraine crisis at the G20 Summit hosted by Indonesia last month and said: “Today the world is very polarised...even having everybody in the room was a real challenge in the last G20 meeting in Bali.”
However, he said an independent minded country such as India that is trusted in the Global South has the “middle ground” to bring differing parties to the table to work with others. “It is also a time when we must become the voice of the Global South that is otherwise underrepresented in such forums.
India’s G20 presidency will work to further promote oneness, inspired by ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future.’ NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister