The G20 joint declaration has brought together a variety of ideas, divergent opinions, and insecure people into a unified geopolitical platform, led by India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since Putin was handling the Ukraine problem at home, his absence from the G20 summit was accepted. However, the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping was perceived as the tipping point that ended the negotiations. It was assumed that mission consensus meant mission on an impossible 34-page communiqué, however, sows the seeds of optimism for a fresh geopolitics that had been wilting under what Prime Minister Narendra Modi labels a "trust deficit."
The declaration's toughest battle was over words—how to comment on the situation in Ukraine while remaining neutral. The peacekeeping mission for this battle of blame and bloodshed narratives was to condemn wars, discuss human suffering, discuss the impact of war on food, energy, and supply chains, remind members to uphold international law and territorial integrity, and mention Ukraine four times and Russia twice. Military warmongers were wiped out in eight straight paragraphs by verbal peacemakers, resulting in peace without war. This is how the Indians do things.
The most important concept, initiated and supported by India, was to broaden the G20 and include the African Union as a permanent member. This has mainstreamed the representative voices of 1.4 billion people living in 54 nations with a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion. The world's geoeconomics will undoubtedly be enriched if the world's second-largest continent engages with the rest of the globe equally. China, on the other hand, will continue to encourage authoritarian stumbles. Regardless, the G20 has been renamed the G21.
The G20 members have shown a degree of commitment to shift towards clean energy, with renewable energy sources providing 29% of their energy mix in 2021, an increase from 19% in 2010. Most members have pledged to be "net-zero," cutting back on emissions and fossil fuel use. India's benefits from the G20 presidency include its convening power, ability to generate consensus at a platform, and ability to generate a consensus on key global issues.
The most important concept, initiated and supported by India, was to broaden the G20 and include the African Union as a permanent member. The New Delhi Declaration is organized around ten themes: the economy, sustainable development, green development, future multilateral institutions, technology and digital public infrastructure, international taxation, gender equality and empowerment, finance, terrorism, and money laundering, and creating a more inclusive world. The manifestation of the New Delhi statement is a geopolitical reset towards restoring the reason why the G20—now G21—was formed in the first place: to unify the globe while maintaining sovereign areas economically
The outcome of the G20 meeting included a statement that addressed key global issues such as climate change, gender equality, SDG goals, financial inclusion, terrorism, and money laundering. India's leadership role has become the voice for an alternative vision in the global south, offering opportunities for open APIs and digital public goods. The World Bank's G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion document endorsed the transformative impact of Digital Public Inclusion in India, such as JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) Trinity, which has propelled the financial inclusion rate from 25 percent in 2008 to over 80 percent of adults in the last six years.
The New Delhi Declaration highlighted India's commitment to combating corruption, strengthening global health and implementing a One Health approach, delivering quality education, and recognizing culture as a transformative driver of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Prime Minister announced India's emergence on the global stage during Amrit Kaal up to 2047, making science and economy deliver for humanity at large under the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' – One Earth, One Family, One Future.
The G20 summit and 200-odd meetings held in India showcased India's diverse and innovative approach to global issues, demonstrating its leadership role in the global south.
This broad goal, which had been neglected amid the US-China, India-China, Russia-Ukraine, and EU-Russia hostilities, is again back on the table of international diplomacy. It has given fresh meaning to multilateralism, which had become a forum for moral platitudes at the group level and fundamental bilateral conversations on the outside—the fringe had gone mainstream. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be under scrutiny as Brazil takes over the G21 Presidency, with expectations to further Modi's Mission Impossible achievement.
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