Vivek Shukla
India is taking over the reins of G-20 only on 1st December 2022, but the matter of fact is that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to symbolically take over the G-20 presidency from current chair Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali on November 16, 2022. Indeed, it is a historic opportunity for the country. If everything goes according to plan, US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President T Erdogan, Argentina’s President Alberrto Fernandez and others would be in New Delhi to attend the G-20 summit. Surely, it would be a great opportunity for India to host so many world leaders together.
India is to host over 200 G-20 meetings during its yearlong Presidency of the influential group which will culminate with an annual summit on September 9 and 10 next year. These meetings would take place in New Delhi and other major cities of the country. Calling this a momentous occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Presidency of G-20 during year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is a matter of pride for every Indian. The Prime Minister expressed happiness over the growing interest and activities about the G-20 and related events. G-20 is not solely an event of the central government, it is important to understand that the state governments as well as all political parties should actively take part in this endeavour. The event is organised by Indians and G-20 is a great opportunity for us to showcase a glimpse of our tradition of ‘Guest is God’. The events related to G-20 will not be limited to New Delhi or a few places but programmes will be held in several major cities/ states of the country. Meanwhile, the forthcoming G-20 summit would mark the end of an era for two iconic buildings of the capital so far as hosting big-ticket international summits like Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD). Since 1956 when both Vigyan Bhawan and Ashok Hotel came up within a year, yes, almost all international conferences were taking place at Vigyan Bhawan and head of the states used to stay at gigantic Ashok Hotel (The Ashok since 2006). That order would break as neither of them would have any role in the G-20 summit. While the main summit would be held at the newly constructed convention hall at the Pragati Maidan, the head of the states of nations would stay at luxury hotels. We have seen the leaders like Barack Obama, Putin, Xi Jinping and others are staying in Presidential Suites of luxury hotels of the capital.
Well, India’s G-20 presidency is coming at a time of crisis and chaos. The world is dealing with the after-effects of a disruptive once-in-a-century global pandemic, conflicts and lots of economic uncertainty. The G-20 summit is not merely a diplomatic meeting. India takes it as a new responsibility and as the world’s trust in it. “Today, there is an unprecedented curiosity in the world to know and understand India. Today India is being studied in a new light. Our current successes are being assessed and unprecedented hopes are being expressed about our future,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently said.
The G-20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).Collectively, the G-20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation. India is currently part of G-20 Troika (current, previous, and incoming G-20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy, and India. During India’s Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika. It would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them a greater voice. There has been a tradition of the G-20 Presidency inviting some guest countries and international organisations to its G-20 meetings and summit. Accordingly, in addition to regular international organisations like UN, IMF, World Bank, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization, and International Labour Organization among others, India, as G-20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE as guest countries. Meanwhile, New Delhi is already gearing up for G-20 summit. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will go to do the makeover of more than 40 arterial roads falling into its jurisdiction. G-20 leaders would use these roads while going from one place to another. A special focus will be on the roads leading from Indira Gandhi International Airport to the city and areas where the delegates will hold meetings. It will take up several civil, electrical and horticulture works on 41 arterial roads. The civic agency will beautify and rejuvenate the areas surrounding these roads. The roads identified for the project include the stretch from parliament to Teen Murti Marg, Barakhamba Road, KG Marg, Tolstoy Marg near Jantar Mantar, Janpath Road, Lodhi road, Africa Avenue Marg, Aurobindo Marg, Dara Shikoh marg among others, according to officials. After 1983, when India had hosted Nam summit, G-20 would be the biggest International summit that India is going to host. Of course, now all eyes would be on India as to how we, the people of country, will host the G-20 summit.
(The author is former Head of Media UAE Embassy, Delhi).
