India, Indonesia swap G20 presidency term; New Delhi to chair grouping in 2023
Though no official reason was available for the sudden change, people familiar with developments said the order of the rotating presidency of the G20 is decided among members on the basis of consultations and mutual convenience
India and Indonesia have swapped the presidency of the G20, with New Delhi now set to chair the grouping of the world’s largest economies in 2023.
India was earlier expected to be president of the G20 in 2022, coinciding with the 75th year of its independence. It had sought a swap with Italy, which was set to be the chair in 2022 and agreed to take on the presidency in 2021.
A declaration adopted at the end of the G20 Summit on Sunday said, “We look forward to our next meetings in Italy in 2021, Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024.”
Though no official reason was available for the sudden change, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the order of the rotating presidency of the G20 is decided among members on the basis of consultations and mutual convenience.
Also read | PM Modi lists India’s progress on climate change targets on G20 sidelines
“India looks forward to taking forward the G20 agenda in 2023 after the Italian and Indonesian presidencies,” one of the people cited above said.
Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi told a virtual news briefing that her country had discussed the exchange with India because a G20 presidency in 2023 would have overlapped with presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“Indonesia has discussed the exchange for our presidency term in G20 with India, and fortunately, India has a similar intention to lead the bloc in 2023,” Marsudi said.
Instead of India, Indonesia will now join G20’s “troika” in 2021 along with Saudi Arabia and Italy. The troika is a transitional mechanism that works to ensure that incoming presidents continue the vision of the previous chair.
At the 2018 G20 Summit in Argentina, India had sought a swap with Italy so that it could be president of the grouping during the 75th anniversary of independence in 2022.
