Aditi Tikku
After the conclusion of the first Sherpa meeting of India’s G20 presidency at majestic Udaipur, now UNESCO world heritage city Ahmedabad is getting ready to host the first Sherpa meeting of Urban 20 (U20), one of the 10 engagement groups under G20 which prepares the urban agenda .
India officially assumed the G20 presidency on
December 1, 2022 taking over from Indonesia at a time when the world is grappling with a long list of crises whether it is geopolitical, job losses, extreme poverty or economic instability dragging the world in a state of turmoil. Amid such a sorry state of affairs how significant this presidency is going to be for India and what are some core challenges that India needs to deliberate on this is something to ponder on.
4 What is G20 ?
The G20 or group of twenty is an intergovernmental forum that brings together the world’s major economies like the USA, China, Russia, India, France and so on . This grouping comprises 19 countries and the European Union which itself consists of 27 European nations. It’s pertinent to mention here that together the member nations of the G20 represent about 85% of the global GDP, 66% of the world’s population and around 75% of international trade.
4India’s agenda and the challenges underneath .
Talking about New Delhi’s agenda at the G20 , India has clearly stated that it’s focus during this year-long presidency will be on an “inclusive and action-oriented agenda”. As per the statement of the PM Narendra Modi,” India will make the G20 a catalyst for global change”. The gravity of his words lies in the fact that India as a president of this prominent forum will have an opportunity to resolve some of the most pressing global issues and also boost it’s significance on the global stage .
Since India is heading G20 under a fragile ecosystem when the world has just come out of a pandemic and the war in Ukraine is still on, New Delhi needs a robust roadmap to tackle the following bottlenecks that lie ahead of this summit :
4 ” The Hindu ” reports that the IMF has warned of higher recession risks and a darker global outlook in the coming years.
4 The global fuel crises due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is another sticking point.
4 Debt crisis that looms large mainly on the low income countries including uncertainty over the post pandemic economic recovery.
Food insecurity and climate financing are among some of the most immediate challenges concerning the world at this moment and need to be resolved at the earliest.
4 Can G20 evolve into an alternative to the UNSC ?
The credibility of UNSC has been in question for several reasons whether it is the ‘power play of veto among the P5 nations’ , ‘underrepresentation’ as it does not include any African and Latin American nation and fails to take into account globally important and emerging economies like G4 or it’s ‘ineffectiveness’ to address complex global issues.
It’s been nearly three decades since India has advocated reforms at UNSC in order to make it more inclusive and representative but each time the demand is crushed by the dirty misuse of veto. Stating that the reformation of the UNSC is the most complex process of the UN system, India ‘s permanent representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj has made it quite clear that the appeal is nothing but a wild goose chase. Speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters she also underlined that if the UNSC refuses to make any progress and fails to introduce reforms in the Security Council there is a possibility that other minilateral organisations like the G-20 will step up and take a more prominent role in the global affairs. Unlike UNSC there is enhanced representation in the G20 , it’s more democratic and the overall partnership is much broader. Moreover , it’s more uniform since there is no such luxury like veto power.
Leading the G20 summit for an year it would be a giant leap for India if it manages to utilise its goodwill to forge a consensus on wide range of globally important issues and at the same time take a conscious stance towards emerging as a voice of the ‘Global South’ as it has been advocating under it’s guiding principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘One Earth One Family One Future’ which lays a greater emphasis on not leaving anyone behind .
4G20 meetings in the UT of J&K .
There are reports that India is planning to host some of its 2023 meetings of G20 in the UT of J&K , this is one such incident which will make India’s presidency even more historic as it would be the first major international summit on the soil of J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 . Some are hailing it as a fantastic geopolitical masterstroke by India while others are wary of the serious security challenges it may pose for the country as Islamabad and Beijing have registered their strong opposition against any such attempts by India . Even if that remains the case and both Beijing and Islamabad stand in utter disregard to this proposal by New Delhi the western world will more staunchly side with India hence one way or the other India has managed to find a middle ground and has got nothing to loose .
(The writer is Media student
at Central University of Jammu).
