Hopeful of consensus on G20 Summit’s joint communique: Top Indian diplomat
Differences between the West and Russia over the language to be used remains the primary hurdle against the New Delhi declaration
NEW DELHI: India expects a consensus to emerge on the G20 communique, the country’s top diplomat said on Friday ahead of the two-day summit’s inaugural on Saturday as contentious issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to cast a shadow of discord among member countries in their efforts to reach an agreed upon declaration.
“India’s expectation is that all G20 members will move towards a consensus and we are hopeful of a consensus on the communique,” foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a packed pre-summit press conference in response to a question on the Ukraine conflict holding up an agreement on the leaders’ declaration to be issued at the end of the summit.
With China solidly behind Russia on the Ukraine conflict and the West supporting Kyiv, member countries have found it hard to agree on the language in the communique in context of the ongoing conflict.
Differences between the West and Russia over the language to be used remains the primary hurdle against a joint communique.
Top Indian officials who addressed the presser on Friday didn’t offer details on the declaration with Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 sherpa, or leading negotiator, saying: “New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration is almost ready, I would not like to dwell on it,” Kant said. “This declaration will be recommended to the leaders.”
On the issue of including the African Union in the grouping, Kwatra said a “suitable decision” would be taken on it during the Summit.
Kant spoke in detail about India’s vision for the bloc and its presidency.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that India’s G20 presidency should be inclusive, action-oriented, ambitious and decisive, Kant referred to the “Global South” – broadly, countries that are developing or underdeveloped -- and said New Delhi has pushed for the African Union’s inclusion in the group.
Referring to the declaration, Kant said it will be the voice of the global south and developing countries.
“These are the four principles on which we have worked. We have lived up to his vision of being inclusive, action-oriented, ambitious and very decisive during our presidency,” Kant said.
Former foreign secretary and G20 chief coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla said 220 events were held in 60 different cities in keeping with Modi’s vision of having at least one G20 meeting in every state and union territory.
“This is cooperative federalism at its best. It gave us the opportunity to highlight and showcase India’s cultural heritage and tourism potential. One lakh visitors from 125 nationalities discovered a new India,’’ he observed.
Speaking about India’s key priorities as the G20 chair, Kant said: “Only 12 of the 169 SDGs (sustainable development goals) are on track and we are way behind the schedule. We are midway at the 2030 Action Point. But we are way behind. Therefore, accelerating SDGs, improving learning outcomes, healthy outcomes, nutrition - all these were very critical for India’s presidency,” Kant said.
On the issue of Green Development, Kant said there were several components of this which India wanted to drive and therefore, green development, climate action, climate finance were prioritised.
“Because both SDG and climate action require finance, particularly for developing and emerging markets in the global south. It was critical that we focus on multilateral institutions of the 21st century,” Kant added.
Asked about Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping the summit, Kant said multilateral discussions are different from bilateral issues. “China brings its own perspective on issues of growth and development. However, in such events, there has to be a consensus and everybody has to be onboard, since every nation has a veto power,” he said.