Maintaining that multilateralism is in a state of crisis and that the architecture of global governance put together at the end of the second world war to address competing and common interests has failed, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, stressed that the tragic consequences of this failure are mostly felt by the developing countries.
“The experience of the last few years- financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism, and wars clearly shows that global governance has failed in both its mandates. We must also admit that the tragic consequences of this failure are being faced most of all by the developing countries”, the Prime Minister told Foreign Ministers attending the G-20 Meeting in New Delhi.
“After years of progress, we are at risk today of moving back on the Sustainable Development Goals. Many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt while trying to ensure food and energy security for their people. They are also the ones most affected by global warming caused by richer countries. This is why India’s G20 Presidency has tried to give a voice to the Global South. No group can claim global leadership without listening to those most affected by its decisions”, the Prime Minister remarked.
The Foreign Ministers of the G 20 are meeting at a time when there are deep divisions in the international community on the Ukraine War that has just observed the first anniversary at the great costs to lives and property. The Indian Prime Minister argued that everybody had positions and perspectives on how tensions have to be resolved, but as members of leading economies of the world the G 20 also had a responsibility to those not in the room.
“The world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, transnational crime, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security. In all these areas, the G20 has capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results. We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can” Modi said stressing “ As you meet in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha, I pray that you will draw inspiration from India’s civilizational ethos – to focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us all”.
The Prime Minister touched on the disastrous pandemic, the loss of thousands of lives in natural disasters, supply chain breakdown and stable economies overwhelmed by debt and financial crisis. “The G20 has a critical role to play in finding the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand and resilience on the other. We can reach this balance more easily by working together. That is why your meeting is important. I have full trust in your collective wisdom and ability. I am sure that today’s meeting will be ambitious, inclusive, action-oriented, and will rise above differences”, the Prime Minister said.
The G 20 meeting of the Foreign Minister is not expected to come up with a Joint Statement just as how the Group’s Finance Ministers could not arrive at one during the recent meeting in Bengaluru. Even before the Foreign Ministers started arriving in India it was evident that Ukraine and the sharp differences will dominate even if not in a public posturing. While western delegates made it clear that they will be focussed on the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian media had said that Minister Sergey Lavrov will be raising the bombing of the Nordic Stream pipeline supposedly by the United States. And Foreign Ministers of Japan and South Korea stayed away citing urgent domestic political compulsions.
