NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the G20 foreign ministers in a video message on Thursday that the architecture of global governance created after the World War-II has failed and the tragic consequences of this is being faced mainly by the developing countries. He exhorted the G20 to display unity and focus on “what unites us, not on what divides us” by relying on India’s civilisational ethos as the land of the Buddha and Gandhiji.
“No group can claim global leadership without listening to those most affected by its decisions. We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister reminded the G20 that the “world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges to growth; development; economic resilience; disaster resilience; financial stability; trans-national crime; corruption; terrorism; and food and energy security.” He further stated, “We also have a responsibility towards those who are not in this room. Many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt, while trying to ensure food and energy security for their people.”
Pointing out that India’s G20 presidency has tried to give a voice to the Global South, the Prime Minister, however, acknowledged that “the G20 meeting is taking place at a time of deep global divisions”, that “as foreign ministers, it is but natural that your discussions are affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day” and that “we all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions should be resolved”. But he reminded the G20 that “after years of progress, we are at risk today of moving back on the Sustainable Development Goals”
The Prime Minister’s message comes amid high tensions between Russia and the West over the continuing Ukraine conflict and the controversy at the conclusion of the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting last week in Bengaluru where there was no joint communique due to objections raised by Russia and China over certain references to Ukraine that was part of the G20 Bali Summit consensus.
In his remarks, Modi said, “India has selected the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ for its G20 Presidency. It signals the need for unity of purpose and unity of action. I hope that your meeting today will reflect this spirit of coming together, for achieving common and concrete objectives. We must all acknowledge that multilateralism is in crisis today. The architecture of global governance, created after the Second World War, was to serve two functions. First, to prevent future wars by balancing competing interests. Second, to foster international cooperation on issues of common interests. The experience of the last few years – financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism, and wars – clearly shows that global governance has failed in both its mandates. We must also admit that the tragic consequences of this failure are being faced most of all by the developing countries.”
The Prime Minister further said, “We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can. As you meet in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha, I pray that you will draw inspiration from India’s civilisational ethos – to focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us. Excellencies, in recent times, we have seen the most disastrous pandemic of a century. We have witnessed thousands of lives lost in natural disasters. We have seen global supply chains break down during times of stress. We have seen stable economies suddenly overwhelmed by debt and financial crisis. These experiences clearly show the need for resilience – in our societies, in our economies, in our healthcare systems, and in our infrastructure. The G20 has a critical role to play in finding the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand, and resilience on the other. We can reach this balance more easily by working together.” He urged that the discussions at the meeting be “ambitious, inclusive, action-oriented, and will rise above differences”.
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