The Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Sunday managed to defy expectations and reach consensus on a joint declaration by world leaders, but not without compromise on the Ukraine conflict and action on climate change.
The consensus came as a surprise. In the weeks before the summit, sharply diverging views on the war threatened to derail the meeting, with Western countries calling on members to call on Moscow to attack and Russia saying it would reject any such proposal. which does not reflect his position.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Global South’s position in the talks helped prevent the G20 agenda from being overshadowed by Ukraine. “India has really united the G20 members from the Global South.”
Here are five key findings from the two-day summit:
African Union joins G20
Leading G20 economies begin weekend proceedings by welcoming African Union (AU) newest member of a group Which already represents 85 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has portrayed the weekend as a sign of India’s diplomatic maturity and an opportunity to voice the needs of his country’s presidency. global south,
Modi began the formal proceedings of the summit by inviting AU President Azali Assoumani to take a seat with the world leaders.
Before Saturday, the G20 consisted of 19 countries and the European Union, while South Africa was its only member country from the continent.
The AU has a total of 55 members, but six military-ruled nations are currently suspended. With approximately 1.4 billion people its collective GDP is $3 trillion.
‘Differing views’ on Ukraine
G20 leaders have been fuming over the Ukraine war since Moscow’s invasion last year, with Russian President Vladimir Putin skipping the summit altogether to avoid political humiliation.
Facing the prospect of a major diplomatic embarrassment, host India pressured members to agree to a common statement that watered down its earlier condemnation of the war.
The G20 condemned the use of force for regional gain, but avoided direct criticism of Russia by name.
“There were differing views and assessments of the situation,” the leaders’ statement said.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolaenko criticized the statement, saying the G20 had “nothing to be proud of”.
climate failures
There was no consensus among the leaders phasing out fossil fuels A UN report a day earlier deemed the cuts “indispensable” to achieve net-zero emissions.
The G20 nations account for about 80 percent of global emissions and a crucial round of climate talks starting in November in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates is looming over their inability to agree on a phased approach.
“We need strong, bold action from leaders,” said Madhura Joshi, senior associate at climate think tank E3G.
But for the first time, the G20 endorsed the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity and noted the need to peak emissions before 2025.
It also acknowledged that limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) would require a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 from 2019 levels.
‘Spice Roots’ and Israeli normalization
A broad coalition including the United States and Saudi Arabia unveiled ambitious plans to create A Modern Spice Route Connecting Europe, the Middle East and India.
If the initiative goes ahead, it would set up railways, ports, power and data networks and hydrogen pipelines across the Middle East to offset Chinese infrastructure spending, boosting trade between India and Europe by up to 40 percent .
The plans are also being pitched as a means to help normalize relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab states.
India or India?
For several days, rumors have been circulating in India that the official use of the English name of the country will be stopped.
In his opening speech at the summit, Modi gave the biggest hint yet of possible change, sitting behind the country’s nameplate with the word “India” emblazoned on it. hindu religious symbolism and dating from ancient scriptures.
Bharat and India are both official names of the country under its constitution.
Members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist party have campaigned against using the more popular surname India, which has its roots in Western antiquity and was imposed during the British conquest.