Rama Krishna Sangem
The New Delhi Declaration of G-20 summit is finally adopted unanimously, especially on the ongoing on War in Ukraine. The declaration denounced in no uncertain terms the war – rather put it as Ukraine -Russia crisis – in clear terms, but refrained from openly condemning Russia. The declaration which was adopted on the first day of the summit, on September 8, Saturday, is considered as a significant achievement for India and G-20.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s famous words on Ukraine war – that this is not an era of war – found their place in the declaration. He said these words to Russian president Vladimir Putin when they met for SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, around the same time – September 15-16 – last year. Since then, these words have been quoted by many global leaders many times.
One hiccup expected on the New Delhi declaration was a reference to the Ukraine war. While the US and G-7 countries are of the view that Russia should be named and blamed for its invasion of Ukraine, China and naturally Russia are dead against to that. India and several other developing countries come in between. Precisely, this stand off came in the way of passing a unanimous resolution at G-20 summit last year at Bali, Indonesia.
The US relented for Unanimous declaration
A unanimous declaration at New Delhi is possible as the US and the UK relented on the wording of the three paras that dealt with Ukraine war. Of the total 83 paras of the declaration, three referred to the war, that is going on since February 2022. The three paras talked about the needless war or aggression to sovereignty on nations to alter national borders and called for resolution of all disputes peacefully through the UN Charter.
The declaration detailed the unfortunate impact of the war on several fronts – economic and social costs on people and countries and disruption to supply chains. The early the war is ended, the better it would be for humanity. The war, as the declaration mentioned, has triggered a humanitarian crisis. However, one notable aspect is that nowhere Russia is directly named for blamed. That’s how the declaration is passed unanimously.
Russia’s foreign minister SergeyLavrov is present at the summit so is Chinese premier Li Qiang, No 2 after president Xi Jinping, too. They kept silent to the wording of the declaration, as it nowhere mentioned Russia as an aggressor. That’s fine with them. Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar told a media conference on Saturday evening that three developing countries – Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa – have helped India in finalising the New Delhi declaration.
Other issues are Okay for all
Except the Ukraine war, all other issues on development and growth that found a place in the New Delhi declaration are okay to all the members. They include a fund for Biofuels Alliance, debt restructuring of poorer countries, need to bring in rules to streamline crypto currencies, aiming for women led growth and pushing for speedy progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and increasing multilateral financing to needy countries.
With these high points, India is now in a position to claim its presidency a grand success. Right from US president Jeo Biden to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, all hailed India as a bright spot in today’s global economic situation. Presence of delegates from around 106 countries and all major global institutions at G-20 summit lend credence to that.
