New Delhi edition of G20 Summit to reiterate India’s position as a rising star in world order, say delegates

The 18th edition of the G20 Summit gets underway in New Delhi over the weekend amid new conflicts, shifts in power structures and the rise of India as an important player in geopolitics. The last is already evident in the country’s aggressive advocacy for a greater role for the Global South in international decision-making. 

Azali Assoumani, Chairperson of the African Union, implied as much when he commended India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in doing the groundwork for the African Union’s role in the intergovernmental forum. 

“If the African Union becomes a full member of G20, it would be because of India’s role. This is an honour for us… India has been promoting Global South cooperation. That is important. We need to work together in win-win cooperation,” observed Assoumani as the spokesperson for the 55-nation grouping. 

In private conversations in the corridors of the newly redeveloped Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre in the national capital, G21 is already the latest buzzword. 

So, even while Western political observers speculate over fissures in the latest G20 summit, most admit that India has been able to successfully start a conversation on the emerging world order. 

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“Africa has a lot of potential in fields like agriculture, fisheries and minerals.  We used to be a victim [but] now we should be part of the development. We need to discuss climate change. As victims of pollution, so need to fight pollution together,” observed Assoumani. 

The other important conversations are around the reform of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and climate finance for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And the European Commission has already arrived at the table. 

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said, “Climate finance is an important topic. And so is the reform of the MDBs for the developing world. Issues such as private capital, public resources, green markets, carbon credits, all of these must be on the table.”  

But based on its own experience from British colonial rule in 1947, India would very much like to see a reform in the MDBs. 

Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, said deliberations were held over 40 meetings involving experts on the issue of MDB reforms. 

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“We are hopeful that the discourse on [MDB reforms] held over the past nine months will be considered positively by the [world] leaders.” 

The US, meanwhile, seeks to rival China’s influence in the Global South with the help of newfound allies like India. 

Taking cognisance of Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping the summit, Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor of the US, observed, “It affords the [Joe] Biden administration even more of a chance to go on the offensive in terms of stepping up and showing what their value proposition is to the Global South!" 

Sullivan’s value proposition includes offering another option to the Chinese One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative that has put several countries from Asia to Africa through a debilitating debt cycle, by offering cheaper loans to the developing world. The initiative by China to build a new Silk Route is increasingly viewed by observers as an attempt to establish its economic and military hegemony. 

The African Union has already expressed hope that India will soon be making massive investments like China in the African continent. 

It remains to be seen what the G20 joint declaration states on Sunday.