The 18th G20 Summit, which started on Saturday, September 9, brought together Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and other international leaders at the expansive Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.
The host nation, India, struggled for last-minute consensus on contentious subjects including the Ukraine conflict, climate change, and global governance as the national capital was spruced up and somewhat depopulated for the huge world event.
The New Delhi Declaration was adopted unanimously with no disagreement among the world’s leading economies on all development and geopolitical questions, such as climate change or Ukraine conflict. Despite having divergent viewpoints, all economic leaders managed to find common ground on each issue discussed at this summit, such as climate change or the Ukraine conflict.
Good news has arrived. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation and efforts, consensus was achieved regarding the New Delhi G20 Leadership Declaration; I’m happy to announce its adoption,” stated Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
G20 Summit Day One Highlights
- The letter avoided criticizing Russia for its involvement in Ukraine, instead calling upon all countries to refrain from using force to seize territory. Furthermore, it demanded states adhere to UN Charter principles while declaring nuclear weaponry to be inadmissible.
- This letter called on Russia to provide immediate and unhindered supplies of grain, fertilizer, and other goods to developing and least-developed nations, particularly in Africa, to meet their demands and fulfill the agreement reached at Rio+20.
- The report stressed the need to end military destruction and other forms of attacks against food and energy infrastructure and expressed alarm over high levels of volatility in these markets.
- G20 members pledged to “phase down” coal usage according to their national circumstances, including major fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Australia as well as coal-dependent nations such as India and South Africa. Furthermore, the G20 committed to tripling renewable sources of energy by 2030.
- To reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the world will need to invest an additional $4 trillion per year from 2030 onwards.
- The New Delhi Declaration called for reforming international financial institutions as well as managing the debt vulnerability of low and middle-income nations and initiating an exchange of tax-related data about crypto assets before 2027.
- Global leaders acknowledged that central banks remain committed to upholding price stability by their mandates, with risks still tilted toward the downside, given a tightening in global financial conditions that has worsened debt vulnerability, persistent inflation, and geoeconomic tensions. “We emphasize the necessity for calibrated monetary, fiscal and financial policies to promote economic growth, reduce inequality and sustain macroeconomic and financial stability,” read the report.
- Document praised the Financial Stability Board and Standard Setting Bodies for their initial efforts to assess lessons that can be drawn from recent financial turmoil and encouraged them to continue with their efforts. Furthermore, specific jurisdictions had taken initial steps towards understanding lessons to be drawn from recent banking turbulence – and encouraged these organizations and bodies to pursue this work further.
- At their annual summit, the Group of 20 world’s premier economies welcomed the African Union into their ranks.
G20 Summit Day One: Key Decisions
On Saturday morning in Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi was where this year’s G20 Summit kicked off with some key decisions being announced at this landmark gathering of world economies.
G20 Leaders’ Summit Commences
The G20 Leaders’ Summit began Saturday, September 9, and will last through September 10. At this summit, some of the most influential leaders from around the globe gather to discuss issues related to global cooperation. Over 30 top officials and heads of state from European Union countries along with guests as well as 14 international organizations are attending this summit.
Key Moments
India is hosting this year’s G20 Summit under its Presidency with an emphasis on Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. This theme comes from the ancient Sanskrit text Maha Upanishad and below are highlights from Day 1 at this summit.
Consensus Reached
At the second session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that consensus had been achieved among G20 member states on adopting the New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration and announced it to have been adopted after receiving approval from members. At his announcement at this second session, Modi stated that this had come about thanks to hard work by our teams and the cooperation of all member states in creating the New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration. He suggested adopting it himself; after receiving member approval it was officially adopted.
African Union is Now a G20 Member
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, made official the African Union (AU)’s membership in the Group of Twenty (G20) on Saturday. India proposed giving permanent membership as part of its “sabka saath principle.” Modi responded, saying he believed all parties involved were in agreement with his proposal and then went on to request that the African Union President join as a permanent member before commencing work on this proposal.
The African Union (AU) is an influential institution with 55 member countries across Africa. Narendra Modi of India shares a light-hearted moment with the African Union President and Union of Comoros Azali Assoumani upon arriving at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, New Delhi for G20 Summit India 2019 Saturday, September 9, 2023.
India-UK Bilateral
Modi and Rishi Sunak met after the first session of the G20 Summit to discuss ways to increase investment and strengthen trade ties between India and UK bilaterals. Sunak had earlier welcomed Modi with a namaste at the venue; following their meeting Modi posted that he was “glad to have met @RishiSunak at the sidelines of G20 Summit; we discussed ways to increase investment and deepen trade links, and discussed India-UK work together for sustainable prosperity.”
Indian and Japanese Bilateral
On Saturday evening at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam for the Gala Dinner of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for bilateral discussions at the fringes of the summit. Modi expressed his eagerness to increase cooperation in connectivity, commerce, and other areas between India and Japan, in areas including connectivity.
We reviewed our bilateral India-Japan ties as well as progress made during India’s G20 presidency as Japan’s G7 presidency respectively – having productive discussions with PM Kishida we reviewed bilateral India-Japan relations as well as progress made during India’s G7 presidency respectively.”
G20 Summit Delhi 2023: An Aspect of Day 1
The G20 Summit is being hosted in India’s Capital this week and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed British PM Rishi Sunak at Bharat Mandapam for its opening session. On Saturday, leaders from G20 nations came together and agreed on measures to urgently and effectively tackle debt vulnerability among developing nations such as Zambia, Ghana, and Sri Lanka.
Debt vulnerability issues of Zambia, Ghana, and Ethiopia are addressed within a common framework, while Sri Lanka stands outside it. The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration stated that, despite the tightening of global financial conditions which could increase debt vulnerability and inflationary pressures as well as geoeconomic tensions, the balance remains negative. In the Declaration, G20 leaders committed to supporting resilient growth through immediate and effective measures against debt vulnerability in developing nations.
Leaders emphasize the significance of taking measures to address vulnerability to debt in low and middle-income nations in an inclusive, comprehensive, systematic, and effective manner. The G20 invited continued discussions of policy issues related to implementation and a Common Framework to make relevant recommendations.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by US President Joe Biden, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for an event to launch the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment: India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor during G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi, India.
Also Read: G20 SUMMIT 2023: AN OVERVIEW
