The 18th G20 Summit of 2023 recently concluded in New Delhi

By Admin 745 0 Comments Sep 15, 2023

The 18th G20 Summit of 2023 recently concluded in New Delhi, India, marking the first-ever G20 summit hosted by the country. The summit’s theme, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future” is rooted in ancient Sanskrit texts and the goal of sustainable development.

India was successfully able to achieve consensus around the New Delhi Declaration early on in the G20 Summit, which saw a dilution in the position taken by the U.S. and EU on Russia, besides focus on UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and green development initiatives, multilateral financing, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and international taxation, among others.

The G20 initiative was announced at the G7 summit in Cologne in June 1999. It was legally constituted at the G7 Finance Ministers’ conference on 26th September 1999, with an initial meeting in Berlin on 15–16 December 1999. The first chairman was former Canadian finance minister Paul Martin, and former German finance minister Hans Eichel hosted the inaugural meeting.

The G-20 initiative is a group of the world’s most powerful economic forces, comprising 19 countries plus the European Union (EU), whose primary purpose is to improve global economic and financial cooperation and decision-making. The G-20 has evolved to become one of the most influential international organisations, accounting for 85% of global GDP, 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

The G-20 was formed in 1999 when the finance ministers and central bank governors of 20 powerful nations convened to examine the fallout of the Asian Financial Crisis. The inaugural G-20 summit was held in 2008 in Washington DC, United States. The G-20 platform has increased in importance since then, and in 2009, world leaders decided that the G-20 would replace the G-8 as the most powerful club of rich nations.

On 4-5 September 2016, the G20 summit was held in Hangzhou, China, with the theme ‘An Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected, and Inclusive World Economy.’ Given India’s status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, its involvement in bringing the summit’s theme to life will be important.

Key Achievements of G20 Summit 2023 Under India’s Presidency:

The principle of "Vasudeva Kutumbakam," or "the world is one family," is the most important lesson to be learned from the G20 leaders' summit, the G20 chief coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. The other key objectives and achievements of G20 Summit 2023 are:

Strong, Sustainable, Balanced, And Inclusive Growth

G20 renewed our commitment to ensure a level playing field and fair competition by discouraging protectionism and market-distorting practices, to foster a favourable trade and investment environment for all. It aims to achieve sustainably financed universal social protection coverage and consider the portability of social security benefits through bilateral and multilateral agreements.
It will continue to enhance macro policy cooperation and support the progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. According to New Delhi’s Leaders Declaration, “we reaffirm that achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth (SSBIG) will require policymakers to stay agile and flexible in their policy response, as evidenced during the recent banking turbulence in a few advanced economies where expeditious action by relevant authorities helped to maintain financial stability and manage spillovers.”
The summit welcomes the initial steps taken by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), standard-setting bodies (SSBs), and certain jurisdictions to examine what lessons can be learned from this recent banking turbulence and encourage them to advance their ongoing work.

Accelerating Progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 18th G20 focuses on resilient and inclusive growth, women's empowerment, well-being, sustainable development, health, and education. At the halfway point to 2030, the global progress on SDGs is up with only 12 percent of the targets on track.
In order to create the desired society for our future generations, the G20 will use its convening power and collective will to implement the 2030 Agenda fully and successfully to swiftly advance toward the SDGs.
The Delhi declaration mentions the role of digital transformation, AI, and data advances, in harnessing Data for Development (D4D) and welcomes the decision to launch the Data for Development Capacity Building Initiative, and other existing initiatives.
The global leader summit commits to enhancing global food security and nutrition for all in line with the G20 Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition 2023.
This area will also focus on the importance of foundational learning which includes literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills as the primary building block for education and employment.

Green Development Pact for A Sustainable Future

The G20 leaders approved a green development pact on 9^th September to hasten the actions required to address the environmental and climate change issues. According to Sherpa Amitabh Kant, this development pact will concentrate on financing, reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, a worldwide biofuel alliance, sustainable development, and eliminating plastic pollution, among other things.
The aim is to achieve the prosperity and well-being of present and future generations depending on our current development and other policy choices and actions with environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development in an integrated, holistic, and balanced manner.

Multilateral Institutions for the 21st Century

The 21st century also needs a system of international development financing that is capable of meeting the needs of developing nations, especially the poorest and most vulnerable ones, and that can also accommodate the scope of the challenges they face and the severity of the shocks they experience. Our attempts to generate funding from all sources for a quantum leap from billions to trillions of dollars for development will depend on stronger MDBs.
According to Sitharaman, an agreement was reached on a framework for debt relief for Zambia, Ghana, and Ethiopia. The framework now covers all aspects of finance for resilient, sustainable cities, and MDBs can make use of it. According to Sitharaman, as part of the G20's progress on international taxation, work has been done on the exchange of information on immovable properties.
The proposals to restructure MDBs to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century have been approved by all members, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. G20 members pledge in the declaration to "pursue reforms for better, bigger and more effective" MDBs in order to "address global challenges to maximize developmental impact."

Technological Transformation and Digital Public Infrastructure

The concept of "digital public infrastructure" (DPI), which refers to a collection of shared digital systems that are developed and used by the public and private sectors, is constantly evolving. DPI is based on secure and resilient infrastructure, and it can be constructed using open standards and specifications as well as open-source software, which can enable the delivery of services at a societal level.
The finance minister asserted that India has achieved all three of the "foundational" DPIs: real-time fast payment (the UPI, digital identity (Aadhaar), and a platform for sharing personal data safely without compromising privacy. The idea "to build and maintain a Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR), a virtual repository of DPI," which India willingly shared with G20 members and others, was also praised in the declaration.

International Taxation

International taxation is a complicated topic that involves global corporations and increasingly, internet-based companies and transactions. The two-pillar approach proposes a fundamental minimum tax for multinational corporations and identifies jurisdictions.
According to the declaration, "We reaffirm our commitment to continue working together toward a globally equitable, sustainable, and contemporary international tax system appropriate to the needs of the 21st century."
In contrast, Sitharaman claimed that the committee has achieved "substantial progress" in the two-pillar approach and that work has also been done on the interchange of international real estate transactions.

Gender Equality and Empowering All Women and Girls

The G20 reiterates that investing in the empowerment of all women and girls has a compounding impact on accomplishing the 2030 Agenda and that gender equality is of fundamental importance.
The goal of the G20 Association for the Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation (EMPOWER) is to hasten the advancement of women's leadership and empowerment in the private sector. EMPOWER is an association of G20 corporate leaders and governments.

Financial Sector Issues

The system to enable the timely and adequate mobilization of resources for climate finance is the main focus of the G20 conference. “We recall and reaffirm the commitment made in 2010 by the developed countries to the goal of jointly mobilizing $ 100 billion climate finance per year by 2020, and annually through 2025, to address the needs of the developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation action and transparency in implementation. Developed country contributors expect this goal to be met for the first time in 2023,” the declaration said.

Countering Terrorism and Money Laundering

The Declaration made by Delhi leaders during G20 denounced terrorism in all of its forms, either motivated by racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance, as well as acts committed in the name of religion or other philosophical beliefs, while also recognizing the commitment of all religions to peace. As it represents one of the gravest risks to global peace and security.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF Style Regional Bodies have increasing resource demands, and the G20 Summit in 2023 supports these needs and urges others to do the same, including for the upcoming cycle of mutual assessments.

Creating a More Inclusive World

India with its G20 presidency aims for a tight-knit world with a mutual goal of peace and prosperity. India's ability to get everyone on the same page is demonstrated by the G20 Declaration, which includes the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 without any comments or objections.
The Millets and Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative (MAHARISHI), a project to establish mechanisms to connect researchers and institutions, encourage information sharing, and organize capacity-building activities, among others, across the G20 countries, was launched with support from the G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) while India held the G20 presidency.
On Saturday, world leaders unveiled a global rail and port agreement that connects the Middle East and South Asia. According to Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security advisor, during the bloc's annual summit in New Delhi, the accord will benefit low- and middle-income countries in the area and enable the Middle East to play a crucial role in international trade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British colleague Rishi Sunak agreed that India and the UK will "work at pace" to resolve any outstanding difficulties preventing the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) so that a fair and progressive trade agreement is quickly reached.
This summit also emphasizes the interdependence, relatedness, and mutually reinforcing nature of freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and freedom of association, as well as the role that these rights can play in the struggle against all types of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.

Why India’s G20 presidency is significant?

India is about to experience a strategic window of opportunity. This year, the country's economy is predicted to grow at the quickest rate among developed nations, surpassing China. India may also gain from the US-China trade war as nations look to break their ties to China in the sectors of crucial and developing technologies.

There are some early indications from the 18th G20 presidency which further marks climate policies and DPI agendas as crucial. DPI in particular presents a potential low-cost software substitute for China's "Belt and Road" Initiative.

Also, India is attempting to maintain a delicate balance between pushing for a fairer distribution of power within the international order and averting the perception that it is supporting anti-Western causes.

As per media reports, PM Modi as the president of G20 is determined to make the global table larger, ensuring that every call is heard and every country gets a chance to contribute. He said, "Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20."

The G20 this year can be viewed as the (first) "green summit" because India is promoting a number of climate policies, such as the International Biofuels Alliance, "Mission Life" (which promotes the idea of a circular economy), and green hydrogen standards. In order to promote green funding, India is also urging international development banks to undergo reform.

G20 Summit Conclusion

The G-20 initiative is a coalition of the world’s most powerful 19 economies plus the EU. It was founded in 1999 and comprises the economies that account for 85% of the world’s GDP, 75% of global trade, and over two-thirds of the world’s total population. The G-20 has been a collective, non-hierarchical body and played a key role in promoting world trade.