US, India, Brazil and South Africa reaffirmed shared commitment to G20: Biden

NEW DELHI: The US, India, Brazil, and South Africa reaffirmed their shared commitment to the G20, which is to deliver solutions for the shared world.US President Joe Biden on Saturday posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Together, the United States, India, Brazil, and South Africa reaffirm our shared commitment to the G20 – delivering solutions for our shared world.”

US President Joe Biden on Saturday posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Together, the United States, India, Brazil, and South Africa reaffirm our shared commitment to the G20 – delivering solutions for our shared world.”

The leaders of the four countries, who met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, vowed to build on the “historic progress” of India’s G20 Presidency to address global challenges.

“In this spirit, together with the World Bank President, we welcome the G20’s commitment to build better, bigger, and more effective multilateral development banks. This commitment underscores what we can do, by working together through the G20, to support our people toward a better future,” a joint statement read.

The opening day of the G20 summit on Saturday witnessed several crucial developments, including the formal induction of the African Union to the group, 100 per cent consensus on the Delhi Declaration, a biofuel alliance and the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IECC EC).

India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union, on Saturday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the IECC EC.

The corridor will encourage and provide impetus to economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, West Asia/ Middle East and Europe, sources said.

The IMCC EC will consist of two separate corridors — East corridor connecting India to West Asia /Middle East and the Northern corridor connecting West Asia / Middle East to Europe. It will include a rail line that, which upon completion, will provide a reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement the existing multi-modal transport routes enhancing transshipment of goods and services between Southeast Asia through India to West Asia /Middle East Europe.

Connectivity with countries of the region remains a key priority for India and is deeply rooted in Indian civilizational history, read the statement, adding that India has always stood to invest, cooperate and build connectivity as part of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

While expanding connectivity, it is important to ensure that the initiatives in this direction are consultative, transparent and participatory with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, sources said, adding that adhering to the principles of financial responsibility and economic viability are key to avoiding an unsustainable debt burden on the recipients.

Conforming to ecological and environmental standards must also be ensured, sources added.

“The objective of development cooperation is that it would stand out as a symbol of an alternate approach, cement our relationship with key actors in the region and beyond, and provide our industry and business new opportunities to plug into international trade and logistics corridors,” the statement read.

India stands to gain significantly as the deal places the country firmly on the route of trade flows from South East Asia to the Gulf, West Asia and Europe, giving it significant strategic and economic advantage, besides creating huge opportunities in the logistics and transportation sector, sources added.