NEW DELHI: India formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping held in New Delhi this weekend.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
India has had the presidency of the G20 since December 1 last year, when it took over from Indonesia and will continue to hold the position until November 30.
During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including food and energy security, climate change and global debt vulnerabilities.
Modi also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members and determine “how their progress can be accelerated”.
“In that session, we can review the topics decided during this summit,” Modi said, adding that details would be shared with members.
Key Takeaways
Leaders of the world’s 20 big economies ended a summit overcoming deep divisions over the war in Ukraine to produce a consensus document and move forward on issues such overhauling institutions like the World Bank. They also formally admitted the African Union to the bloc to make the grouping more representative.
G20 nations agreed that states cannot grab territory by force and highlighted the suffering of the people of Ukraine, but avoided direct criticism of Russia for the war.
The declaration was seen as an apparent softening from the position that the G20 took last year when it condemned Russia for the war and demanded that it withdraw from Ukraine.
Host India along with Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa, played a key role in avoiding a fracturing of the G20 over the Ukraine conflict, officials said, reflecting the growing power of the Global South developing nations in the group.
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Economic Corridor
The 55-member African Union was formally made permanent member of the G20, on par with the European Union, in order to make the grouping more representative.
Until now only South Africa was a member of the G20. The entry of the AU would provide greater voice to the Global South within the G20 where the G7 countries have long played a dominant role.
The move also came after the BRICs, another group dominated by China and Russia, was expanded to include Saudi Arabia and Iran among other nations which was seen as an attempt by Beijing to make it a possible alternate to the G20.
Leaders of the United States, India and Saudi Arabia among others announced plans to set up rail and ports links between the Middle East and South Asia and eventually to Europe which US President Joe Biden said was a “real big deal.”
The Biden administration is seeking to counter China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries at the G20 grouping.
There were no details about financing or a time frame for the project that involved laying down railway lines in the Middle East and then connecting them to India by port.
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Climate Change
The G20 leaders agreed to pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting major climate goals.
The group did not provide any plan to amend existing policies and targets in order to achieve the target of ramping of renewables. It also said $4 trillion a year would be needed to pay for a green energy transition but did not lay out any pathway to it.
The deliberations of the G20 were being closely watched ahead of the COP28 UN climate summit in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
