INDIA G20 PRESIDENCY

India by assuming the G20 presidency has the chance to play an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

From a geopolitical perspective, this means India can take the opportunity to leverage its historical and amenable ties with Russia, and bring a more isolated Moscow to the discussion and diplomacy roundtable of over 200 G20 meetings to follow. It can use its platform to address the Ukraine conflict, strategizing for peace and a path toward reconciliation as much as possible.

India will have to navigate a delicate balance, overcoming partisan pressures from both sides to bridge the East-West conflict. And it will have to do so while carefully wading through issues central to its own strategic self-interests as well as those of the global community, creating an archetype for substantive talks, implementation and outcome for the G20 culminating with a leader’s summit to be held in New Delhi in September 2023.

The G20 presidency gives India an unprecedented opportunity to test its clout and credibility in tackling the fragmented global order — and now it needs to embrace it.

The agenda of inclusive growth is well-manifested in the priorities set by India's presidency.

Priorities

1. Green Development, Climate Finance & LiFE: Climate change is a key priority for India’s presidential Presidency, with a particular focus towards not only climate finance and technology, but also ensuring just energy transitions for developing nations across the world. Understanding that the issue of climate change cuts across industry, society, and sectors, India offers the world LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) -a behaviour-based movement that draws from its nation's rich, ancient sustainable traditions to nudge consumers, and in-turn markets, to adopt environmentally-conscious practices. This ties closely with India’s G20 theme: 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth. One Family. One Future. Through its leadership role, India  must give priority to a developmental agenda, while creating a blueprint for a faster, more resilient and inclusive global economic recovery.
2. Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth: An accelerated, resilient and inclusive growth is a cornerstone for sustainable development. During its G20 Presidency, India aims to focus on areas that have the potential to bring structural transformation. This includes an ambition to accelerate integration of MSMEs in global trade, bring in the spirit of trade for growth, promote labour rights and secure labour welfare, address global skills gap, and build inclusive agricultural value chains and food systems etc.
3. Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure : As G20 Presidency, India can foreground its belief in a human-centric approach to technology, and facilitate greater knowledge-sharing in priority areas like digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, and tech-enabled development in sectors ranging from agriculture to education. For Prime Minister Modi “data for development” will be an integral part of India’s presidency. The digital transformation shouldn’t be confined to a small part of humanity, and its greater benefits will be realized only when digital access becomes truly inclusive. India’s own experience in the past few years has shown that if digital architecture is made widely accessible, it can bring about socioeconomic transformation.
4. Accelerating progress on SDGs: India wants to focus on recommitting G20's efforts to achieving the targets laid out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity in the world
5. Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century, Multilateral reforms: India's G20 priority will be to continue pressing for reformed multilateralism that creates more accountable, inclusive just, equitable and representative multipolar international system that is fit for addressing the challenges in the 21st century.
6. Women-led Development: India hopes to use the G20 forum to highlight inclusive growth and development, with women empowerment and representation being at the core of India's G20 deliberations. This includes a focus on bringing women to the fore, and in leading positions, in order to boost socio-economic development and achievement of SDGs.

Invitees:

1. South Africa
2. Egypt
3. Mauritius
4. Nigeria
5. Chair of African Union (The African Union (AU) is an influential grouping consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent).
6. Chair of AUDA-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD was established in 2010 to integrate the then New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) into African Union (AU) structures and processes.