'India’s G20 presidency has responsibilities that are exceptional'

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister(EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday said India’s G20 presidency comes with expectations and responsibilities that are exceptional. Speaking at an event at Delhi University (DU), the EAM weighed in on what makes India’s G20 presidency different.

“The first reason is actually the chair. The fact is, India has assumed the G20 presidency at a time when India is starting to matter more and more to the world. This is partly because of our economic achievements as we are now the fifth-largest economy in the world," he said.

He added that India, today, is recognised as essential to the global workplace and the global talent pool. The theme for the DU event was 'G20 Presidency and its Global Impact'. The programme was presided over by the vice-chancellor of Delhi University, Yogesh Singh.

The EAM said India’s G20 presidency matters because it has "demonstrated a capability of helping other countries".

"Therefore India's presidency of the G20 has expectations and responsibilities, which are exceptional,” he said. India assumed the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022 will hold the chair till November 30, this year.

The theme for India’s G20 Presidency this year is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, loosely translated to 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

The phrase has been drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad. The G20 Summit will be hosted in the national capital over two days — September 9 and 10.

The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among Ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. The G20 members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population, EAM Jaishankar added in his address that India has changed the world's thinking about solar energy through the International Solar Alliance.

“Today we are trying to change the world's food habits through the International Year of Millets. We have created a collective way of responding to disasters through a coalition of disaster response," he said.

“So, the whole perception today of India is not just a happening place where these big leaps of technology are made. It is also a place, a country, which is today seen as responsible, which is seen as innovative, which is seen as actually driving global progress...So I am very confident that when one day you will all look back, you will all remember 2023 as a big year for India, as a year when our G20 presidency put us on a different place on the map of the world," he added.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EAM said the “conflict is today creating problems in fuel cost, in availability and prices of food grains, in the access and the price of fertilizers. It is actually creating inflation across the global economy."

The EAM added, "Nobody wants this conflict. The sentiment in the world today is for peace. We are not neutral, we are in favour of peace and the world is with us."