G20 Delhi Declaration focuses on inclusive growth
NEW DELHI, September 9, 2023
Indian PM Narendra Modi announced that the G20 had adopted a consensus declaration on the opening day of the summit focusing on promoting strong, sustainable and inclusive growth and accelerate progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals, among other broader range of issues.
"History has been created with the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. United in consensus and spirit, we pledge to work collaboratively for a better, more prosperous, and harmonious future. My gratitude to all fellow G20 members for their support and cooperation," said PM Modi.
"On the back of the hard work of all the teams, we have received consensus on the G20 Leaders Summit Declaration. I announce the adoption of this declaration," he told the leaders, including US President Joe Biden and heads of government and state from across the world.
"We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability," the declaration said.
The consensus came as a surprise as G20 is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations earlier pushing for strong condemnation of Russia in the Leaders' Declaration, while others demanded a focus on broader economic issues, reported Reuters.
Leaders' Declaration adopted on the first day of the weekend G20 summit in New Delhi avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory.
It also called for the implementation of the Black Sea initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from Ukraine and Russia.
Moscow had pulled out of the agreement in July over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports.
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said China, Russia's main major ally, was supportive of the outcome.
"Differing viewpoints and interests were at play, but we were able to find common ground on all issues," he told a press conference.
The differing views on the war had prevented agreement on even a single communique at ministerial meetings during India's G20 presidency so far this year.
India's sherpa, the country representative to the G20, Amitabh Kant, said the host nation worked "very closely" with Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia to reach a consensus on the language on the war in Ukraine in the summit document.
The declaration also said the group agreed to address debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries "in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner", but did not make any fresh action plan.
It said countries pledged to strengthen and reform multilateral development banks, while it accepted the proposal for tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies.
It also agreed that the world needs a total of $4 trillion of low-cost financing annually for the energy transition, with a high share of renewables in the primary energy mix.
The statement called for accelerating efforts towards a "phasedown of unabated coal power", but said this had to be done "in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards just transitions".
Dr Jaishankar said the declaration envisages a green development path for a sustainable future. It endorses high-level principles on lifestyle for sustainable development.”
The G20 has highlighted transformative role of technology and reaffirmed the fundamental importance of gender equality and committed to halve digital gender gap by 2030, he added while addressing a press conference at the International Media Centre at the summit venue, along with his senior colleagues.
The minister said India consciously sought to make this G20 differently inclusive and broad based with the participation of 20 members, and nine invitee countries and 14 international organisations. Around 125 nations were consulted to express their views in terms of organisation and programmes of the G20 under the the Indian presidency, he revealed.
“It is a matter of particular satisfaction for us that the African Union has this morning become a permanent member of the G20, that too during the Indian presidency. This proves the priority that we attach to addressing the urgent concerns of the Global South,” Jaishankar stressed.
Recognising that the post-pandemic world order must necessarily be different from the world before it, the leaders have also emphasised the need to reinvigorate multilateralism and reform International Financial Institutions, he explained.
Women’s food security emerged as the cornerstone of community development in the declaration.
Observing that rising commodity prices, including food and energy prices, are contributing to cost of living pressures, the G20 leaders Saturday announced their commitment to enhance global food security and nutrition for all in line with the G20 Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition 2023.
The group expressed its commitment to eliminating hunger and malnutrition.
“Rising commodity prices, including food and energy prices are contributing to cost of living pressures. Global challenges like poverty and inequality, climate change, pandemics, and conflicts disproportionately affect women and children, and the most vulnerable,” notes the preamble of the Declaration.
Addressing the media, Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, said: "Indian presidency has worked to ensure that divergences do not overshadow the core developmental outcomes of global community that demand collaborative solutions."
Kant said the declaration has 83 paragraphs and all having 100 percent consensus. “All countries have unanimously supported the declaration. This is the one declaration without a single footnote and without any chair summary."
"This demonstrates India's ability to bring developed, developing and emerging countries to the same table," he added.
