Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, has asked the G20’s foreign ministers to put aside their differences and concentrate on the problems of the developing world.
“We are gathering in a period of severe international divisions. To people outside of this chamber, we owe a duty “He told Delhi’s ministers.
India seeks to bring up concerns affecting the Global South, a group of developing nations.
Yet the group’s internal conflicts over the war in Ukraine will put Indian diplomacy to the test.
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In Bangalore (Bengaluru) city last week, the G20 finance ministers met for the first ministerial meeting prior to the summit later this year, but they were unable to agree on a concluding statement.
India was the last country to make a chair’s report public, noting that there were “differing perceptions of the situation” in Ukraine among the group members. Similar difficulties will probably arise during the Thursday’s talks between the foreign ministers.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr. Modi made it clear that India intended to produce accords that could support the developing world and support its global ambitions.
“We now run the risk of going backwards on the sustainable development goals after years of advancement. While attempting to secure food and energy security, many emerging nations are battling with unmanageable debt “he stated.
“They are also most impacted by the global warming that wealthy nations are responsible for. This is why India has made an effort to represent the Global South during its G20 chairmanship.”
India’s aspirations for the G20 are hampered by the Ukrainian War
Why does India not condemn Russia over Ukraine?
The G20 accounts for 85% of global economic activity and two-thirds of its population, and it is made up of the world’s 19 richest countries plus the European Union.
During the summit, foreign ministers from different countries are in Delhi, including Sergey Lavrov of Russia, Antony Blinken of the US, and Qin Gang of China. An ex-Indian ambassador told the BBC that India will need to “do something unique” to persuade them to put aside their concerns regarding the war.
According to experts, Delhi would also have to balance upholding its non-alignment stance regarding the conflict while pleading with other countries to find methods to cooperate.
Delhi has withstood the pressure and kept to its stance of not publicly criticizing Russia, the country that supplies India with the majority of its weapons.
Iran consistently abstains from voting on UN resolutions that condemn the conflict in Ukraine, including last week’s vote at the UN General Assembly.
Furthermore, it has defended its choice to boost its oil imports from Russia by claiming that it must meet the requirements of more than a billion people.
It has, however, emphasized the significance of “the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states” in previous pronouncements on Ukraine.
Apart from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last autumn, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a speech that was perceived as a subtly critical of Russia. In front of President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Modi declared that “war is not the era of today” during the Uzbek conference.
Despite Mr. Modi’s efforts, observers predict that the Ukraine crisis will overshadow Thursday’s talks. Even before the summit began, it predominated statements from a few G20 members.
“This war has to be condemned,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told reporters following the meeting, according to news agency Reuters.
“I hope, I am certain that India’s diplomatic capacity would be used to make Russia see that this war must end,” he said.
On Wednesday, India’s top diplomat Vinay Kwatra said that while the war in Ukraine would be an important point of discussion, “issues relating to food, energy and fertiliser security, the impact that the conflict has on these economic challenges that we confront” would also receive “proper priority”.
