Will India manage to leave a permanent mark as G20 chair?

India, which will assume the one year presidency of the G20 nations from next week, is determined to leave a permanent mark as its chair. Importantly, India will also aim to showcase how multilateralism can be successfully upheld despite the rising global uncertainties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bali said that India’s presidency is coming at a time of crisis and chaos in the world. “The world is going through the aftereffects of a disruptive once-in-a-century pandemic, conflicts, and a lot of economic uncertainty,” he said.

“India would want to be the lead voice for the developing world while showcasing its own strength as a democratic economy driving global order and recovery,” a person working with a team of dedicated civil service officers assigned to chalk out strategies and global issues that will be key for the G20 presidency phase, said.

India has already said that it will invite Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria and Oman among others as guest countries for the meetings and other events of the G20 under its presidency.

A batch of more than 120 newly recruited Indian Economic Service officers has been meticulously working on various researches and reports for better understanding of each issue. The new batch of trained young officers, instead of being placed in different departments, have been given the collective assignment for two years to prepare for the G20 meetings and presidency.

The developing world and especially countries in the South Asian region will hope that India can successfully be its voice at a time when the impact of geopolitical tension driven by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the rising tension between the US and China has dealt a blow to them.

Washington based Foreign Policy magazine in a report said that India’s G-20 presidency will make it a bridge between the developed and developing worlds. It will lead the world’s wealthiest economies—but with an opportunity to take on challenges that disproportionately affect the developing world, such as poverty, climate change, and pandemics. “New Delhi excels at managing rival relationships, as recently shown by its tricky—but so far successful—balancing of relations with the United States and Russia during the latter’s war in Ukraine,” it added.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) will also be invited for the G20 events in India. Other global fora such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organisation, World Trade Organisation, and the International Labour Organisation are already part of the G20 network.

As International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said, all eyes will now be on India’s G20 Presidency.

Also read: India Takes World Centre-Stage with G20 Presidency