As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, global leaders are convening to discuss various issues facing their countries and the world as a whole. Amidst these discussions, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s Foreign Secretary, has emphasized the importance of focusing on people’s issues and not getting distracted by other agendas. With a wealth of experience in international diplomacy and a deep understanding of global challenges, Shringla’s insights are timely and critical for the success of the G20 summit. In this article, we’ll explore Shringla’s perspective on the G20’s role, the challenges facing the world today, and why prioritizing people’s issues is more important than ever.
G20 Chief Coordinator, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, has called on the 20-nation multilateral group not to get distracted from adopting an inclusive approach to pressing issues of the day that affect the lives of people. Speaking at a conference organized by the Centre for Global India Insights in New Delhi, Shringla emphasized that it is incumbent on the G20 to deliver on the expectations of the international community at large. While acknowledging that there is enough to divide nations, Shringla called for a unified approach that looks at the world as one family, emphasizing the importance of taking decisions that make a difference to the lives of people across the world.
Shringla’s views reflect India’s emerging approach of keeping contentious geopolitical issues, such as the Ukraine crisis, off the G20 agenda. The recent meeting of foreign ministers of G20 countries failed to reach a consensus on the Ukraine issue due to sharply different views of Russia and Western countries. Since then, Russia has been more vocal about not letting the Ukraine figure in G20 discussions.
The conference featured eminent speakers, including Member of Parliament Dr. Amar Patnaik, Indonesia’s Ambassador to India, Ina H. Krisnamurthi, UN Resident Coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp, Edward Uziel, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Brazil, Deep Kapuria, Chairman, The Hi-Tech Group, and Ashish Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary (G-20) in MEA.
Underlining that India’s G20 presidency is animated by the overarching goal of inclusion, Shringla called for reforming the G20 to reflect the interests of developing countries, which have “suffered the brunt of black swan events” such as the pandemic and the Ukraine war. Reflecting the focus on the global South, Shringla stressed that India has invited a “record” number of countries from Africa to be part of G20 consultations and side-events.
“Inclusivity has to really come from within, and when you look at our presidency, we have tried to keep inclusivity foremost in our consideration when we planned our presidency,” he said. “The Prime Minister at the G20 summit in Bali promised an inclusive and action-oriented presidency. This is where the imprint of the developing world would be very much felt in the G20 in a positive way.”
Drawing on an optimistic note, Indonesia’s Ambassador to India, Inna H. Krisnamurthi, said India will strive and thrive in its G20 presidency, highlighting that the country has already made significant achievements in the area of digital energy transition and many other issues. Krishnamurthy stressed that although there has been no consensus during the past G20 meetings, “we should not lose any hopes and optimism that something will happen during the summit because the past meetings cannot define what is going to be the result and outcome of the summit.”
The conference titled “India’s G20 Moment: Forging an Inclusive World Order” aimed to provide an opportunity for India to stimulate discussions among G20 members through a series of meetings with relevant stakeholders from different sectors of society. The G20 summit, scheduled to be held in Rome, Italy later this year, will focus on the twin challenges of recovering from the pandemic and building a better future for all. With India taking a lead in representing the developing world and promoting inclusivity, the upcoming summit is expected to bring significant outcomes for the global community.
