India takes over G20 presidency, promises inclusive and action-oriented agenda

BALI: The G20 summit ended in the resort island of Bali with the overarching message of peace amid Ukraine tensions, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi assuring the world that India’s G-20 presidency will be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.”

At the end of the two-day summit on November 16, Indonesian President Joko Widodo handed over the G20 presidency to PM Modi at the closing session. PM Modi looked jubilant as he took the baton and set the tone for India’s presidency by underlining that the world is looking at the “G-20 with hope”

“India is taking charge of the G-20 at a time when the world is simultaneously grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices, and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic,” he said at the closing session of the summit. “At such a time, the world is looking at the G-20 with hope. Today, I want to assure that India’s G-20 presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.”

Underscoring the role of the G20 in shaping a peaceful world, PM Modi said: “Over the next one year, we will strive to ensure that the G-20 acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action.”

In his closing speech, PM Modi also highlighted his pet ideas for bolstering G20 through enhanced collaboration. “For the safe future of the planet, the sense of trusteeship is the solution. LiFE i.e. ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ campaign can make a big contribution to this. Its purpose is to make sustainable lifestyles a mass movement.”

Most important, PM Modi placed peace and security at the top of the global agenda, a veiled allusion to the persistence of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. “Without peace and security, our future generations will not be able to take advantage of economic growth or technological innovation,” he said. “The G-20 has to convey a strong message in favour of peace and harmony. All these priorities are fully embodied in the theme of India’s G-20 Chairmanship – “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.

India played a key role in successful negotiations of the G20 Bali Declaration, India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatara told reporters in Bali. PM’s message that this is not the age of war and his exhortation to return to diplomacy and dialogue resonated with all delegations, said Mr Kwatra. “The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war,” said the G20 Bali Declaration issued at the end of the Bali summit.

PM Modi invited world leaders to visit India for the G20 summit New Delhi will host on September 9-10, 2023. “We wish that all of you will participate in this unique celebration in India, the ‘Mother of Democracy’. Together, we will make the G-20, a catalyst for global change.”

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Manish Chand

Manish Chand is Founder-CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO/Director of TGII Media Private Limited, an India-based media, publishing, research and consultancy company.