India can bring world together for better future, says PM Narendra Modi

Modi unveils logo, theme, website of India's upcoming G20 presidency

India is working with a vision to bring the entire world together to achieve the common objective of a better future during its G20 presidency, even though the world is going through a deep crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.

Unveiling the logo, theme, and website of India’s upcoming G20 presidency, the prime minister said India’s national flower lotus was the inspiration for the logo with the theme of ‘One World, One Family, One Future’. Earth is placed above the lotus in the logo with the seven petals of the flower representing the seven continents.

“With its ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ slogan, India has called for a revolution in renewable energy. With its ‘One Earth, One Health’ vision, India has also started a campaign to strengthen global health. And now in G20 as well, our mantra is ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. It is these thoughts, this culture, these values of India that will pave the way for the welfare of the world,” Modi said.

The prime minister will be travelling to Indonesia next week to attend the G20 summit, where the presidency of the next G20 will be formally handed over to India. The country will assume the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022. Modi said India’s G20 presidency is coming at a time of crisis and chaos in the world. “The world is going through the aftereffects of disruptive, once in a century pandemic, conflicts, and a lot of economic uncertainty. The symbol of lotus in the G20 logo is a representation of hope in these times. No matter how adverse the circumstances, the lotus still blooms,” he said.

“Even if the world is in a deep crisis, we can still progress and make the world a better place. In Indian culture, both goddesses of knowledge and prosperity sit on a lotus. This is what the world needs most today. G20 aims to bring the world together in harmony, while respecting diversity,” Modi said.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place on September 9-10, 2023, in New Delhi. The Summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held during the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.

During its G20 presidency, India will be holding about 200 meetings in 32 different sectors at multiple locations across India. The G20 Summit to be held next year would be one of the highest-profile international gatherings to be hosted by India.

A look at the newly launched G20 website shows India has invited the leaders of Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE for the G20 summit. The list of special invitee nations changes every year, and is usually fixed at the discretion of the host nation.

Modi said India’s role as president of G20 is very important at a time the world is looking with a lot of hope towards collective responsibility. “On one hand, India has close relations with developed countries and on the other, it understands the views of developing countries very well and it gives voice to them. It is on this basis that we will create a framework for G20’s presidency along with all those countries of the global south that have been for decades fellow travellers of India in the development journey,” he said.

Modi said India can assure every human in the world that both “pragati (progress)” and “prakriti (nature)” can go hand in hand. “We have to make sustainable development an integral part of human lives and not limit it to the government system. The environment is for us, a global cause, but it needs to become a personal responsibility, as well,” he added.

G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation representing around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

In the hot seat
 

> Start of G20 presidency: December 1, 2022

> Culmination: 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit on September 9-10, 2023

> The theme: One World, One Family, One Future

> Special invitees: Leaders of Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE

> 200 meetings in 32 sectors under India’s presidency