G20 Delhi Summit: India Does It With Style
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-09-13 07:06:08
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The India Commentary view
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In line with Prime Minister Modi's thinking that the new realities in the world pecking order mean that the UN Security Council should be expanded to include some more countries and the fact that the Global South can no longer be ignored in any significant grouping in the world (which India, under its G20 presidency, took pains to rectify by including the African Union as the 21st member in the G20), the G20 summit in Delhi sent out positive signals to the world about how conflicts will be resolved in future and how countries will arrive at a consensus on tricky issues. The Delhi Declaration has proved that India has now become a country that is trusted by both the G7 and the Russia-China bloc on the one hand and deeply respected and trusted by the Global South, of which it is the natural leader in terms of its diplomatic standing in the world, the size of its population and its economy.
It is a measure of India's no-nonsense approach at the Delhi G20 summit that all nations have nothing but praise for the manner in which 100 percent consensus was achieved on almost all issues on the agenda, including the Russia-Ukraine war. The language of the seven paragraphs on the geopolitical conflict in Ukraine was finalized after Indian negotiators burned the midnight oil to consult with all countries and ensure that none were left fuming. With Prime Minister Modi proposing a virtual summit of G20 in November (just before India's presidency ends in December) to take stock of the progress on what was decided in the Delhi summit, it is clear that there will be pressure on all concerned not to let the decisions remain on paper.
From holding the G20 meetings all over the country to showcase India's rich culture and diversity to holding them at excellent venues in Delhi with clockwork precision to extending warm hospitality to all delegates, India has taken the G20 a notch higher and shown the world how a summit of this magnitude should be held. The attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping (both of whom skipped the event due to domestic compulsions or to avoid meeting Western leaders) would have made it a perfect event but, in the end, the loss was theirs for despite their absence, the G20 summit in Delhi was a roaring success.
