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It was like a full dress rehearsal for the two-day G20 Leaders’ Summit that starts on Saturday. The mega exercise was put to the test on Friday as delegates from around the world converged in New Delhi to be part of the summit under India’s presidency. As the capital city virtually shut down to make things seamless for the foreign leaders and delegates, the action at the summit venue presented a contrasting picture.
Before the cameras and the action shifted to the late-evening bilateral between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden at the PM’s residence — 7, Lok Kalyan Marg — the highlight of the day was a press briefing in a packed auditorium by the key men who have been at the centre of action for more than a year — G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, Foreign Affairs Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, G20 chief coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth. Listening in were over 2,000 media persons. Whether there will be an official communique or not at the end of the summit remained an unanswered question, even as there was hope in the air.
Indicating the success of the summit, Kant said that the New Delhi declaration under India’s G20 presidency was almost ready and it would be seen as the voice of the Global South. During the press briefing, Kwatra said: “India’s expectation is that all G20 members will move towards a consensus and we are hopeful of a consensus on the communiqué.”
Indicating the success of the summit, Kant said that the New Delhi declaration under India’s G20 presidency was almost ready and it would be seen as the voice of the Global South. During the press briefing, Kwatra said: “India’s expectation is that all G20 members will move towards a consensus and we are hopeful of a consensus on the communiqué.”
Kwatra was responding to a question on the likelihood of the Ukraine conflict holding up an agreement on the New Delhi declaration.
Through the day, reference to last year’s summit in Bali came up multiple times to assess the chances of an official communique in New Delhi and also to compare the readiness of the two G20 host cities.
Not taking the thunder away from the final discussions, Kant said the issue of war with Ukraine had been discussed at great length and leaders would take the discussion further. G20 is an economic forum which discusses the issues of growth and development, he said. “Conflict and war have an impact on growth and development.” He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of India's G20 presidency being an inclusive one had been achieved.
In a teaser of sorts, Shringla spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) greetings with an introduction on democracy that the world leaders would get to witness. At the much-awaited dinner to be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday, the food menu as well as the musical ensemble would encompass “Indian-ness”, he indicated.
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The G20 sherpa listed out the top priorities of the ongoing G20 meet — strong and inclusive growth, accelerating the progress of sustainable development goals, focus on multilateral institutions along with climate action, digital public infrastructure and women-led development. And among the key takeaways, according to him, would be “the huge India narrative in the summary that’s expected… India will leave a huge imprint”.
While detailing the deliberations on strengthening multilateral development banks, supporting sustainability, debt vulnerabilities and using technology for financial inclusion, Seth said: “These recommendations have been placed for consideration of the leaders who will discuss it over the next two days.”
As the summit is ready to roll with three sessions on the opening day — one earth, one family and one future — side events such as the leaders’ Raj Ghat visit to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, some bilateral meetings and spouses’ engagements around the city are expected to add to the overall G20 narrative.
A long day awaits the participants, including those exhibiting handicraft from all over the country at the summit venue. They have to catch the official shuttle before 5 am to ensure the VVIPs have the roads to themselves during the morning hours. All for the success of G20 under India’s presidency.
