Challenges before India as head of G-20
Vivek Shukla
India is taking over the reins of G-20 only on Ist December 2022, but fact of the matter is that the Indian 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 the plan, U.S. 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 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 G20 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, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Presidency of G-20 during the 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 the political parties should actively take part in this endeavour. The event is organised by Indians and the 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 Delhi or a few places but programmes will be held in several major cities/ states of the country.
Meanwhile, the forthcoming G20 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 one 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 G20 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 G20 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 Modi has recently said.
The G20 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, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).Collectively, the G20 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 the G20 Troika (current, previous, and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy, and India.During India’s Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.
This 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 G20 Presidency inviting some guest countries and international organisations to its G20 meetings and summit. Accordingly, in addition to regular international organisations like the UN, IMF, World Bank, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization, and International Labour Organization among others, India, as G20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE as guest countries.
Meanwhile, New Delhi is already gearing up for the G20 summit. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will going to do the makeover of more than 40 arterial roads falling into its jurisdiction. G20 leaders would use these roads while going from one place to another.
A special focus will be on the roads leading from the 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 the 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 host the G-20 summit.
( Vivek Shukla is an author of Gandhi’s Delhi)