Unique Indian approach to guide G-20 Presidency

As the global economy is passing through a difficult phase, with a host of variables like the ongoing war in Ukraine and the post pandemic disruption of supply chains hindering a worldwide economic revival, India has decided to face the challenges of the G-20 presidency by emphasising its own core strengths to guide this presidency. While formally accepting the G-20 presidency baton at the G-20 summit of the Indonesian presidency in Bali earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said India’s Presidency would be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented”.

India’s cultural uniqueness, which comprises a significant portion of its soft power, is what the government has chosen to focus on during the 12 months it will lead the world’s 20 most developed economies, beginning December 1. This will be the largest multilateral organisation India has ever led and, taking on from its previous experience as chair of BRICS and BIMSTEC, India has chalked out its strategy to showcase uniquely Indian experiences for its guests. Its huge achievements in ICT, pharmaceutical and space technologies will also form part of what India intends to highlight.

Flags are already fluttering in New Delhi to commemorate the launch of India’s presidency and India will light up 100 monuments on December 1, with the G-20 logo, to announce the official assumption of the presidency of the group of 20 of the world’s largest economies.

Even before the formal start of its tenure, India organised a ‘special briefing’ for resident Heads of Mission of G-20 member countries at ‘Swaraj Dweep’ (free island, as the former Havelock Island is now named) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where, amid idyllic surroundings, India’s G-20 summit Chief Coordinator, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant outlined  the substantive, operational and logistical aspects of various G20 interactions during India’s Presidency.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, representatives of around 40 Missions and International Organizations were present for the programmes, which also included a session of yoga and blowing conch shells. The briefing was held on November 26, a significant day in Indian contemporary history; the day India adopted its Constitution (in 1949) and faced the worst terrorist attack (in 2008); again highlighting a core strength, of being a constitutional democracy, and a core concern, of terrorism.

The special briefing outlined various priorities, including public digital goods and digital infrastructure; inclusive energy transition; accelerated progress on sustainable development goals; women-led development; and multilateral reforms. Climate change is another core area of concern and the delegates took part in a beach cleaning activity, which symbolizes India’s ‘pro-planet, sustainable lifestyles and One Earth approach.’ Delegates also visited the historic Cellular Jail at Port Blair, one of the most oppressive symbols of British colonial rule, encapsulating some historical and cultural aspects that have shaped modern Indian thinking.

The MEA is organising meetings throughout the country on a pan-India basis, to reflect the Prime Minister’s vision that India’s G20 presidency should be a participative process in which everybody feels that it is his presidency.

According to the organisers, meetings during the next year will be held in cities and towns across the country, showcasing as much of India’s unity in diversity for the delegates and guests as possible, from the legendary Hornbill festival of Nagaland and a tour of the Kaziranga rhino sanctuary in Assam and the opportunities for tourism and investment available in Northeast India. Similarly, different meetings will travel through the tea gardens of Darjeeling to a tiger sanctuary in Periyar, to the beach temples of Mahabalipuram to some forts of Rajasthan, the Golden Temple in Amritsar and, of course, the Taj Mahal, to integrate the historic-cultural with the economic. Similarly, visits to pharma facilities, the Bengaluru IT hub and the Anand milk cooperative have been planned. The G-20 leaders’ summit will be held in the capital New Delhi on September 9 and 10, 2023, the MEA said.

India is set to host over 200 meetings across 50 cities during its Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. Plans to hold a meeting for G-20 ministers in Srinagar have, however, been shelved.

As it gets set for a year of intense diplomatic activity, there is considerable optimism within the government and observers that India, in its unique way, will be able to make meaningful contributions to improve the uncertain geo-strategic, geo-political and geo-economic global situation and, perhaps, broker an end to the hostilities in Ukraine. After all, officials claim, India has maintained positive diplomatic ties with every country and emerged largely unscathed despite enormous global pressures, first from the pandemic and, since the beginning of the year, from the hostilities in Ukraine. – INDIA NEWS STREAM

The writer is a senior journalist. The opinions expressed in the article is her own.