By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- India’s 2023 G20 Summit ended on a hopeful note with a joint declaration from world leaders on Saturday that though tamping down its rhetoric on Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, nevertheless made it clear that no country has the right to steal the territorial sovereignty of another country. Major progress was made on the climate action front with G20 leaders agreeing to triple renewable energy capacity on a global scale by 2030. They also agreed to phase-down the rampant use of coal but still failed to set forth major climate goals. Leaders also didn’t present a plan to amend existing policies and targets to bolster renewables. They said that $4 trillion a year will be necessary to pay for a green energy transition but again, presented no plan on that. What G20 leaders declared at this summit will influence what happens at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit in the UAE, some months later.
Meanwhile, analysts and observers agree that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi displayed his capable leadership and competence throughout the summit, especially when it came to achieving a joint declaration from world leaders. India was able to prove itself an influential diplomatic and economic power while Modi said India is able to bridge gaps in the G20 group and get global issues resolved. Modi and his Sherpa Amitabh Kant were able to get a unanimous final agreement on the summit’s first day of meetings, no small feat since it was necessary to get Some experts saw the agreement as a win for Russia, while others read it as an achievement for the West. But most concurred it was a foreign policy triumph for Modi as he pushes to increase India’s influence on the world stage. The declaration was lauded by analyst Derek Grossman who deals with the Indo-Pacific at the RAND Corporation, commenting: “India’s statement embodies the voice of the emerging Global South.” He added: “That is a coup for New Delhi, especially within the context of strategic competition against Beijing, helping it to become the leader of this bloc.”
Also announced at the summit was adding the African Union as a permanent member as well as expanding on crucial issues in developing nations of the Global South. Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, Michael Kugelman said: “We are seeing the G20 finally come into its own as a truly global entity and emerging from the shadow of the G7.” Kugelman said the group is a “successful case study of Western and non-Western powers and the Global South working together to pursue shared goals. Due to Chinese President Xi’s absence from the summit, analysts said it was an opportunity for Modi and other leaders to put forth their own ideas and goals since it’s well known that Xi desires to see the Global South as a China-centric bloc. The consensus was that Modi has demonstrated he’s a force to be reckoned with and was able to accomplish diplomacy in getting leaders to agree on the declaration. It will now be up to the new rotating presidency of Brazil to pick up where Modi left off. The major point highlighted at this year’s G20 was the spirit of multilateralism and a willingness to resolve conflicts in a spirit of solidarity.
Photo : AA
