The world is looking towards India, quite literally. New Delhi is set to host the Group of Twenty (G20) Heads of State and Government Summit on 9th and 10th September. The 18th G20 Summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies across India under its presidency.
A G20 Leaders’ Declaration is expected to be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.
The timing of India’s G20 Presidency couldn’t have been more significant in that India has also hosted and participated in key global summits at the same time. India was president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in December 2022; with the new year, India convened the Global South Summit; in May 2023, India attended the G7 and Quad in Japan.
It also hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and participated in the BRICS summit in South Africa. This goes on to show that India’s aspired growth is gaining momentum.
What is the G20?
The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues. In 2008, it was upgraded to the level of Head of State/Government in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007. In 2009, it was designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.
The G20 Summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency. It consists of two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors lead the Finance Track while Sherpas lead the Sherpa Track after Finance Track.
The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. The G20 initially focused largely on broad macroeconomic issues, but it has since expanded its agenda to inter-alia including trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, climate change, and anti-corruption.
The theme
The theme of India’s G20 Presidency is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. It is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad. Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
Another key focus of the theme is LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) highlighting the Modi government’s dedication to climate change and environment by encouraging environmentally sustainable and responsible choices. The G20 website describes India’s Presidency as the beginning of “Amritkaal”, the 25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence on 15th August 2022 leading up to the centenary of its independence.
Who will attend and who will not?
Members of the G20 include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, and European Union; Heads of States and Governments along with delegates will be in attendance.
However, Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly give the global event a miss. Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be attending in place of Jinping. Reports claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not be attending the Summit. In a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28th August, Putin reportedly cited his “busy schedule” and the “special military operation” in Ukraine for not being able to attend the G20 Summit.
Nations that are not part of the G20 but have been invited by India include Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, the regular international organizations invited to the Summit include United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Besides, heads of regional organizations invited include the African Union (AU), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and ASEAN. India is also inviting some international organisations as guests including International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
4 Sherpa meetings held
India hosted the first G20 Sherpa meeting in Rajasthan’s Udaipur from 4-7 December 2022. The meeting set India on course for its Presidency as it outlined its priorities and agenda for the same. A first-panel discussion was also held here on Sustainable Development Goals, technological transformation, green development, and LiFE; accelerated, inclusive, and resilient growth; multilateralism and food; fuel and fertilizers; women-led development, tourism, and culture.
The second G20 Sherpas meeting took place in the village of Kumarakom in Kerala from March 30 to April 2 this year. The four-day gathering saw over 120 delegates from G20 Members, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organizations. The second meeting saw two key side-events namely Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Green Development.
DPI saw stakeholders like NASSCOM, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL). The event saw an address by distinguished global figures from the Digitech industry. India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant led discussions with the G20 Troika including India, Indonesia, and Brazil.
The third Sherpa meeting was held in Hampi, Karnataka from 13-16 July 2023 where members released a declaration covering the G20’s six priorities. These include Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), green development, multilateral development banks (MDBs) reforms, digital public infrastructure, gender equality, and incorporating the outcomes from the various working groups.
India also proposed the African Union’s membership to the G20 in this meeting. “The African Union, comprising of 55 nations, if admitted, would further amplify the voices from emerging countries and the global south in G20 forum,” a press release on the meeting read.
The fourth and final Sherpa meeting began on 3rd September in Haryana’s Mewat and concludes today, 7th September, two days ahead of the G20 Summit. The meeting has laid down the final agenda for the upcoming 2-day Summit. Climate change and energy have been the key focus of the meeting. Moreover, the agendas of the G20 Summit will be decided in this meeting.
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said that the PM has instructed that the communique should be inclusive. “I can assure you that it would be inclusive, decisive, ambitious, and action-oriented…we will go ahead with PM’s vision. G20 will have a multiplier impact on international and domestic tourism…Every person that has come is saying that they never had an experience like India…There are many issues like crypto and AI that need international cooperation, and we are working on that…”
India – The Voice of the Global South in the G20
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has helmed the G20 with the “Voice of Global South” into a new world order. On 12th January 2023, about a month after taking over the G20 Presidency, India virtually hosted the “Voice of the Global South Summit” with an aim to “shape the emerging global order”.
In a hard-hitting opening statement, PM Modi said, “Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South. But they affect us more. We have seen this in the impacts of COVID pandemic, climate change, terrorism, and even the Ukraine conflict. The search for solutions also does not factor in our role or our voice.”
The Prime Minister called for a global agenda of “Respond, Recognize, Respect, and Reform”. “In the last Century, we supported each other in our fight against foreign rule. We can do it again in this Century, to create a new World Order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens. As far as India is concerned, your Voice is India’s Voice. Your Priorities are India’s Priorities,” the PM said.
Modi’s message has echoed far and wide especially looking at the representation India has made for Africa in the global discourse. India has proposed to make the African Union a permanent member of the G20. In an interview with PTI last week, PM said that India’s affinity to Africa is natural. “We have had millennia-old cultural and commerce ties with Africa. We have a shared history of movements against colonialism. As a youthful and aspirational nation ourselves, we also relate to the people of Africa and their aspirations.”
The Modi government, in the run-up to its G20 Presidency, has advocated for the inclusion of Africa at the global stage. In 2018, PM Modi during his address at the Ugandan Parliament declared that Africa is India’s top priority. For a continent that continues to be exploited for its resources by the West, India has leveraged its position as a rising alternative to China in Asia to underline the significance of anti-colonial nations.
On the issue of debt restructuring especially for the Global South under India’s Presidency, the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) was initiated earlier this year. Three meetings of the GSDR have been held so far and the parties – including co-chair IMF and World Bank – have agreed on urgently improving information sharing, including on macroeconomic projections and sustainability assessments at an early stage of restructuring.
BRICS too has pitched for the voice of the Global South to be amplified at the G20 Summit. PM Modi in his statement in the BRICS Leaders’ Meeting said that the alliance should place its priorities on the agenda and activities of G20. The same was reiterated in the joint statement released at the summit.
The statement read, “We look forward to the successful hosting of the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi under the Indian G20 Presidency. We note the opportunities to build sustained momentum for change by India, Brazil and South Africa presiding over the G20 from 2023 to 2025 and expressed support for continuity and collaboration in their G20 presidencies and wish them all success in their endeavors. Therefore, we are committed to a balanced approach by continuing to amplify and further integrate the voice of the global South in the G20 agenda as under the Indian Presidency in 2023 and the Brazilian and South African presidencies in 2024 and 2025.”
Moreover, PM Modi called for the BRICS to be the voice of the Global South. He underlined India’s close partnership with Africa and reaffirmed India’s commitment to support Africa in its development journey under Agenda 2063. It must be mentioned that the first head of state to arrive in the national capital for the G20 summit is Nigerian President Tinubu.
How China’s expansionist aggression in the Indo-Pacific and trade wars with major Western powers presents an opportunity for India
12 member nations of the G20 are stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region including South Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, US, and Mexico. The countries have a direct Indo-Pacific coastline. With China’s expansionist aggression in the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea, concerned countries are turning to India which has shown promise with its steps to protect the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
India’s plans to shore up the defense capabilities of Indo-Pacific countries, BrahMos sale to the Philippines, coastal surveillance vessels to Vietnam, and logistics agreements with many countries have displayed India’s strategic prowess. These deals and developments are rather a culmination of India’s global diplomacy with strong bilateral ties at its foundation.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Indonesia for the 20th ASEAN-India summit and the 18th East Asia summit comes two days before the G20 Summit. PM in his remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit said that India completely supports ASEAN’s centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific. India has also contributed to the ‘ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum’ by organizing a panel discussion on digital public infrastructure and its importance for enhancing digital transformation and inclusivity.
“ASEAN region has a significant place in India’s Indo-Pacific initiative,” the PM said in his address in Jakarta. Modi reiterated that “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” is the theme of India G20 Presidency, thereby projecting to the ASEAN that India is already on the path which the region is pursuing through its theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.
Not only regional allies but European powers too are increasingly relying on India giving a big boost to the latter’s free and open Indo-Pacific initiative. In July this year, India and France agreed to intensify maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
In August, Italian Ambassador to India Vincenzo De Luca said that the two countries would sign a bilateral defence pact. Italian vessel ITS Morosini also arrived in Mumbai last month as part of its five-month naval diplomacy campaign across the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) was a key focus during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to India in February this year. The above-mentioned developments gathered pace after the Modi leadership launched initiatives like ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) which was announced by the Prime Minister in 2016 with an aim to “actively pursue and promote our geo-political, strategic and economic interests on the seas, in particular the Indian Ocean.”
Besides the Indo-Pacific, India’s unmatchable fight against COVID-19 and its post-COVID economic recovery under the Modi leadership has helped the country make its case with regional blocs like ASEAN. Modi’s remarks at ASEAN vis a vis the G20 and ASEAN themes show that India is not a mere alternative to China in Asia but a force in its own right to be reckoned with.
In fact, Mission SAGAR – under the SAGAR initiative – was launched to deliver COVID-19-related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean region. Essentially, with Mission SAGAR, the Modi government hit two birds with one stone so far as its foreign policy is concerned.
India has not succumbed to the pressure of making G20 all about Russia-Ukraine and has pushed for a peaceful resolution through dialogue while also signaling to the West that its regional concerns are just as much a priority
The mainstream media already seems to have declared the G20 Summit a failure based on their self-defeating coverage of how the West wants India’s Presidency to issue a strong statement on Russia-Ukraine. But even if the EU and G7 have tried and pushed to make G20 all about the Russia-Ukraine war for their own interests, which displays a rather colonial attitude, India adopted a rational and all-inclusive approach. In this regard, India not only brokered dialogue between all stakeholders but has at the same time not given into it entirely so as to keep its own regional and global interests a priority.
As far as the Russia-Ukraine war is concerned, India kept all channels open for dialogue and through its policy made it clear to the West that this is not India’s battle to fight by refusing to taking sides. Reports quoting Indian officials at the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank chiefs in February said that India was crystal clear about its G20 Presidency policy in this context. A report by Reuters quoted an official saying that sanctions on Russia were not a G20 issue. “G20 is an economic forum for discussing growth issues,” the official reportedly said.
In July, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant reportedly said that the Ukraine war was not on India’s list of priorities for outcomes from its presidency. The message was a clear signal that India will not let go of the opportunity to display its global leadership. Prime Minister Modi in an interview with a French daily, Les Echos, said that India’s stand has been clear, transparent, and consistent on the Ukraine war. “I have said that it is not an era of war. We have urged both sides, to resolve issues through dialogue and diplomacy. I told them that India is ready to support all genuine efforts that can help bring this conflict to an end.”
India’s approach did get the Western powers on edge even as it has extended humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and has called for peace talks several times. In a manner of speaking, India’s larger foreign policy built on bilateral relations was at its finest when EAM took on the West for its double standards and the Prime Minister on the other hand said that today’s era was not the era of war at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in September 2022.
To sum it up, India has held a persistent approach and policy on the Ukraine war. Its repeated attempts to broker talks between Russia and Ukraine, while also not letting the stakeholders’ position derail its policy shows that India has indeed drawn the world’s attention to Asia. India’s role has undoubtedly become consequential in more ways than one; it holds the reigns to changing the global dynamics.
Other focus areas covered effectively under India’s Presidency
Among the other key areas India has focussed on in its Presidency is infrastructure under the theme “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient” under the G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG). Discussions were centered around laying the foundations for an urban infrastructure that is sustainable, in view of the challenges posed by climate change, and also digitally advanced.
Global financial issues also remained a key point of the G20 discourse. Crypto, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) reforms, and debt restructuring were also discussed in the context of post-pandemic economic recovery. For India, the key focus during its Presidency has been to create financially viable models that attract private sector investments.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav in an op-ed underlined that the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meetings “focused on innovative themes and best practices for the restoration of land, maintenance of water security, and fostering collaborative partnerships to combat climate change.”
He highlighted India’s contribution to the same with the ban on single-use plastics, notifying extended producer responsibility and e-waste management rules, achieving ethanol blending targets ahead of schedule, and the work on the development of the Green Credit program integrating the principles of Mission LiFE into economic activities.
Besides this, initiatives taken by India – including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and the National Green Hydrogen Mission – have made India the torchbearer in combatting climate change. Notably, India’s greenhouse emissions rate dropped by a staggering 33% in 14 years with the rise in renewable energy generation and an increase in forest cover.
Education, healthcare, agriculture, energy, tourism, and culture are among the many subjects covered in the past nine months. Several G20 working group meetings were conducted in cities across several states including Varanasi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Indore, Mumbai, Guwahati, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and more.
Over 200 meetings have been organized in and around 60 cities across India, the widest geographical spread in any G20 Presidency. A new Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), a new Engagement Group “Startup 20” and a new Initiative Chief Science Advisers’ Roundtable (CSAR) have been operationalized in India’s G20 Presidency. The 11 Engagement Groups provide a platform for dialogue among the private sector, academia, civil society, youth, and women, as well as institutions including the Parliaments, audit authorities, and urban administrations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message ahead of G20 Summit
PM Modi on Thursday (7th September) published a blog titled “Human-Centric Globalisation: Taking G20 to the Last Mile, Leaving None Behind”. Setting the tone for the upcoming Summit, he said that “a shift away from a GDP-centric view of the world to a human-centric view is needed.” The second point, he said is that the world is recognizing the importance of resilience and reliability in global supply chains.
“Third, there is a collective call for boosting multilateralism through the reform of global institutions. Our G20 Presidency has played the role of a catalyst in these shifts,” the PM wrote. The PM called for the democratization of climate action “to impart momentum to the movement”.
Speaking about the importance of including millets in order to ensure food and nutritional security, he said, “Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial. Millets, or Shree Anna, can help with this while also boosting climate-smart agriculture. In the International Year of Millets, we have taken millets to global palates.”
The Prime Minister spoke about how women have played a central role in making India the fastest-growing economy in the world.
“That India is the fastest-growing large economy is no accident. Our simple, scalable, and sustainable solutions have empowered the vulnerable and the marginalized to lead our development story. From space to sports, economy to entrepreneurship, Indian women have taken the lead in various sectors. They have shifted the narrative from the development of women to women-led development. Our G20 Presidency is working on bridging the gender digital divide, reducing labor force participation gaps, and enabling a larger role for women in leadership and decision-making,” Modi wrote.
The key message in the blog written by the Prime Minister in the run-up to the G20 Summit was, “For India, the G20 Presidency is not merely a high-level diplomatic endeavor. As the Mother of Democracy and a model of diversity, we opened the doors of this experience to the world.”