The G20 Summit is an important platform for world leaders to come together and discuss global issues. This year, the Summit, which is being hosted virtually by Saudi Arabia, will focus on one of the most pressing issues facing the world – cross-border terrorism. India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, has emphasized the need for the G20 countries to work towards delegitimizing cross-border terrorism. In this article, we will delve deeper into the importance of this issue and what outcomes we can expect from the G20 Summit this year.
The G-20 summit, with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm, will focus primarily on efforts to combat cross-border terrorism, according to India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar. The minister claimed that delegitimising the problem is crucial, with many countries continuing to face issues of terrorism. Speaking at an interaction programme with intellectuals and students at the JSS campus, Jaishankar said, “We have to be firm on delegitimising this menace,” He added that India has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for almost 16 years, and as an emerging economic superpower, India should be granted permanent membership, despite previous attempts to block it. “While several developed countries are facing economic distress, India is emerging as an economic superpower,” he said. “Hence, the UNSC will be compelled to provide permanent membership to India.”
When discussing the recent Khalistan movement, Jaishankar stated that it was not a threat to India’s sovereignty and integrity and sought to play down the issue. However, following a spate of attacks on Indian embassies in Canada, San Francisco, Australia, and London, Jaishankar issued a warning to those countries that their failure to provide security to Indian embassies could result in strong retaliation.
Jaishankar also highlighted the demographic problems that are stalling economic growth in many developed countries. He claimed that “many developed countries are facing difficulties in the demographic mix, with a shortage of human resources” and that these countries were therefore looking to India for fresh talent to help revive their economies. In this context, Jaishankar talked up the ‘Make in India’ programme, which has helped reduce defence imports significantly. Jaishankar revealed that “India, a decade ago, was the biggest importer of defence equipment, and today the imports have been reduced by 36%.”
Overall, Jaishankar’s speech highlighted India’s increasing stature as an emerging economic superpower, which he believes should qualify the country for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. The minister urged delegates at the G-20 summit to focus on delegitimising cross-border terrorism, an issue he believes impacts many countries around the world, and for which a firm response is required. Furthermore, he warned that India would not tolerate any failures in security arrangements for their embassies abroad. Jaishankar also saw room for India to help boost other economies through its ‘Make in India’ campaign, which has the potential to reduce imports and provide fresh talent for economies hampered by demographic problems.
