Great G20 power, great responsibility

GS paper 2

Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings involving India and affecting India’s interests etc

Source: The Hindu

Context:

• The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place in Bali.
  • After Indonesia, India will assume the presidency of the G20 from December 2022 to November 2023.

Benefits of G20 Presidency:

• Global agenda: India will have the opportunity to assume centre stage in proposing and setting the global agenda and discourse.
• Global economic growth: The G20 holds a strategic role in securing global economic growth and prosperity as it represents more than 80% of the world’s GDP.
• Leadership potential: The country’s leadership potential and diplomatic foresight in organizing such a big event and in arriving at meaningful outcomes will be tested.

What should India do for a successful presidency?

• Following Indonesia: India can take cues from Indonesia’s presidency and observe how it is managing the group which is deeply divided on various issues.
• Indonesia has focused on three key pillars:
  • Global health architecture
  • Sustainable energy transition
  • Digital transformation.
    • This template could be useful for India in forging a comprehensive agenda.
  • Bridging the divide: India might have to address issues that help in bridging the emerging divide in the world order.
  • Global concern: India can find a common ground for setting its G20 agenda by addressing issues of global concern.
  • Domestic and regional issues: It needs to promote its specific priorities related to domestic and regional issues such as economic recovery, trade and investment etc
  • Greater cooperation with many G20 members: such as the European Union, the U.K., and Canada, thereby accelerating their coordination on realizing free trade agreements.
  • Invite and engage countries from Africa and South America: To ensure better and more balanced representation at the G20.

Prioritized areas:

• Technology transfer
• Assistance toward the green economy
• Greater access to trade for developing countries
• Addressing debt distress of countries by offering sustainable aid and loan programmes
• Tackling food and energy prices/security for vulnerable economies

Conclusion:

• Work shop of meaningful actions: India has to be central in outlining key priority areas and in ensuring that the forum does not remain just a ‘talk shop’ but translates into a ‘walk shop’ in terms of meaningful actions and outcomes.

Insta Links:

G20

SCO

Mains Links:

Q. The long sustained image of India as a leader of the oppressed and marginalized nations has disappeared on account of its newfound role in the emerging global order.’ Elaborate(UPSC 2019)

Prelims Links:

• G20 members
• SCO
• QUAD
• FTA