Dissecting G-20 Takeaways

They bring together leaders from the world's major economies to discuss and collaborate on issues impacting the global economy and the world. They also address a range of issues beyond just the global economy, promote cooperation and coordination among the world's major economies, and provide a platform for developing countries to have a voice in the global economic and political arena. As such, G20 summits play a critical role in shaping the global economic agenda and addressing the world's challenges today.

ABOUT G20

During the 2007 global financial and economic crisis, the G20 was upgraded to Heads of State/Government and designated as the "primary platform for international economic cooperation." The G20 includes two primary engagement tracks: the Finance Track for finance ministers and central bank governors and the Sherpa Track for the rest of others. The G20's procedures are led by Sherpas, who are selected as personal envoys of member presidents. These Sherpas monitor the year-round talks, decide on the summit agenda, and organise the G20's substantive work. Working groups with representatives from relevant parties are formed in both tracks to handle certain subjects. For instance, this year, these working groups will focus on global priorities such as green development, climate financing, inclusive growth, the digital economy, public infrastructure, technological transformation, and reforms for women's empowerment for socioeconomic advancement. These efforts are being made to expedite progress towards the SDGs and ensure a brighter future for future generations. The G20 Summit is conducted yearly with a rotating presidency, and India will be in presidency for the year, 2023. The Group lacks a permanent secretariat and is supported by a troika of previous, current, and future presidents. The troika will consist of Indonesia, Brazil, and India in 2023.

G20 SUMMIT 2022 IN BALI

The leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations met for two days in November 2022 on the Indonesian island of Bali. The leaders issued a statement strongly condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine and urging its unconditional departure. They also acknowledged that while most members denounced the war in Ukraine, there were diverse points of view and appraisals of the situation and sanctions. Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, emphasising that it is causing enormous human suffering and exacerbating existing global economic fragilities by constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, increasing energy and food insecurity, and increasing financial stability risk. They also condemned any threat of nuclear weapons use, an apparent rebuke to Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who led the Russian delegation at the summit in President Vladimir Putin's absence, denounced the event's "politicisation."

The summit was preceded by a bilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the first since Biden took office. Although there were few tangible outcomes, it was a constructive meeting after ties between these superpowers hit near-historic lows earlier that year. While the three-hour meeting also revealed serious disagreements regarding Taiwan, trade restrictions, and technology transfers, both parties resolved to keep communications open and avoid any further confrontation.

In their communiqué, the G20 economies agreed to manage interest rate hikes to minimize spillovers carefully and warned of "increasing volatility" in currency fluctuations, a stark contrast to last year's focus on healing the wounds of the COVID-19 epidemic. The mention of spillovers alluded to emerging nations' fears about massive capital outflows if aggressive US rate hikes continue. With the Ukrainian war and hefty pandemic-era expenditure packages accused of fueling red-hot inflation, the G20 countries agreed that any fiscal stimulus should be "temporary and focused." Concerned about the "deteriorating" debt status of several middle-income nations, they emphasised the significance of all creditors bearing the load.

G20 leaders decided to pursue measures to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, reaffirming their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. This might help negotiations at the United Nations COP27 climate meeting in Egypt, where some negotiators were worried that the G20 would fail to support the 1.5C objective, thereby delaying a resolution among the roughly 200 countries present. On the summit's margins, the United States, Japan, and partners announced a $20 billion public-private partnership to assist Indonesia in closing coal power units and bringing the sector's peak emissions date forward by seven years to 2030. Biden and Xi agreed to restart climate change collaboration.

The leaders vowed to make a concerted effort to address food security concerns and praised the Black Sea grains project, while civil society groups criticised the lack of specific hunger-relief measures.

INDIA AS THE HOST 

For 2023. India has been hosting the G20 Leaders' Summit for the first time, with 43 Heads of Delegation the most ever in the G20 and attending the final New Delhi Summit later this year. Being a democratic and multilateralist nation, India's presidency will be a watershed moment as it attempts to develop realistic global solutions for the benefit of everyone while embodying the concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," or "the world is one family."

India has announced its G20 leadership goals for this year. India would prioritise climate change, focusing on climate financing and technology, as well as ensuring equitable energy transitions for poor nations. The LiFE movement, which promotes environmentally conscious habits based on India's sustainable traditions, will be introduced. Supporting small and medium-sized firms in global commerce, promoting labour rights and welfare, tackling the global skills gap, and establishing inclusive agriculture value chains and food systems will be prioritised. Reaffirming commitment to attaining the objectives outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a special emphasis on mitigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be a priority. A human-centric approach to technology is also being promoted, as is enhanced knowledge-sharing in digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, and tech-enabled development in sectors like agriculture and education. Efforts are needed to reform multilateralism and build a more responsible, inclusive, and representative international system capable of solving 21st-century concerns. In order to improve socioeconomic development and the fulfilment of the SDGs, India will also prioritise inclusive growth and development, with an emphasis on women's empowerment and representation.

The G20 presidency provides an excellent opportunity for India to involve its young in exploring innovative solutions to 'glocal' concerns such as climate change mitigation, just energy transition, digital transformation, the future of employment, and long-term economic recovery. The Y20 is one venue inside the G20 system that allows the young to elevate their views and submit solutions to G20 leaders. Erin-Lynn Watson's essay discusses how the Indian G20 presidency should use the global stage to address major young concerns such as jobs, technology, housing, and governance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS OF RECENT G20 SUMMIT 2023

From 22 to 25 February 2023, Bengaluru hosted the first G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the second meeting of Central Bank Governors (FMCBG). The Group talked about anything from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to cryptocurrency. Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Group stated that the G20 is not the appropriate platform for resolving security matters, even though security issues may have substantial ramifications for the global economy. The Group charged the G20 Indian Presidency's Framework Working Group with researching macroeconomic possibilities, repercussions, and impacts of food and energy insecurity and their implications for the global economy and policy settings. The Group charged the International Financial Architecture Working Group with developing a G20 roadmap for implementing the G20 Independent Review of MDB Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF) recommendations based on MDB updates in Spring 2023. The organisation anticipates getting the roadmap at the third meeting in 2023. The Group acknowledged the need to address debt risks in low- and middle-income nations. The members hailed the completion of Chad's debt treatment and asked for the completion of Zambia and Ethiopia's debt treatment work as soon as possible. It anticipates the speedy creation of Ghana's official creditor committee to work on the proposed debt treatment and the prompt settlement of Sri Lanka's debt crisis. The committee charged the International Financial Architecture Working Group to develop a fair and thorough G20 Note on the Global Debt Landscape. In accordance with the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap, the Group stated that it would take steps to facilitate increased finance for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including and beyond climate. The members jointly requested that the Sustainable Finance Working Group build an analytical framework for enabling SDG financing, with a first focus on nature-related data and reporting and social impact investing, taking into account national conditions. The organisation urged the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to complete work on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework implementation packages and modifications to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). By their third summit in 2023, the G20 expects the FSB to issue high-level proposals on the supervision and regulation of stablecoins and crypto assets.

G-20 ON THE UKRAINE CONFLICT

G20 finance leaders have failed to find an agreement on describing the conflict in Ukraine, and their conference in Mumbai is likely to finish without an unified declaration. The US and its G7 partners have repeatedly demanded that the declaration explicitly criticise Russia for its invasion of its neighbour, which the Russian and Chinese delegations have rejected. India also urges the summit to refrain from using the term "war" in any communiqué. India has remained essentially neutral in the war, refusing to condemn Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic settlement, and significantly increasing its imports of Russian oil.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict was expected to be a major topic of discussion at a Group of 20 foreign ministers conference, but India, as the host, is optimistic that the war's economic consequences will be given equal attention. Although India does not want Ukraine to dominate the event, it will be at the top of the agenda. It is New Delhi's "intention to continue acting as the voice of the Global South and promoting regional problems." India, which has not denounced the conflict, intends to focus its G20 presidency on themes such as poverty alleviation and climate financing this year. India is in a difficult position because it shares Western concerns about China, is also a big consumer of Russian armaments, and has increased oil imports.

CONCLUSION

The G20's primary goal has always been to acknowledge the necessity of collective action and inclusive collaboration among the world's leading industrialised and emerging nations. While it is acknowledged that the G20 is not always the best forum for resolving security challenges, it has developed into a major platform for economic cooperation. Such issues continue to have a substantial impact on the global economy. As a result, the G20 must address these concerns as much as possible, especially because the United Nations and other bilateral initiatives have failed to defuse the situation.

Another way India's contribution to G20 this year might be significant is by reflecting on the summit's successes and failures and learning how to make this multilateral platform more relevant. Even though the Ukraine crisis, combined with rising geopolitical tensions as a result of an assertive China, will put India's leadership and ability to restore the G20's credibility in an otherwise declining era of multilateralism to the test, New Delhi aspires to a presidency that is inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.

Under its president, India will have to walk a fine line, overcoming party pressures from both sides to overcome the East-West divide. Moreover, it will have to do so while carefully navigating problems important to its strategic self-interest and the global community, establishing a template for serious negotiations, implementation, and outcome. The G20 presidency gives India an unprecedented chance to demonstrate its heft and credibility in addressing the divided global order and it must now seize it.

REFERENCES

1.         Inclusive, resilient growth focus of India’s G20 priorities: S. Jaishankar—The Hindu. (n.d.) from https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/inclusive-resilient-growth-focus-of-indias-g20-priorities-s-jaishankar/article66463077.ece

2.       India to hold more than 200 events for 2023 G20 summit. (n.d.). India Today, from https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-2023-g20-summit-more-than-200-events-pm-modi-2297152-2022-11-14

3.        Jain, R. D. and P. L. J. and S. (n.d.). G20 in 2023 Priorities for India’s Presidency. ORF, from https://www.orfonline.org/research/g20-in-2023-priorities-for-indias-presidency/

4.       New Delhi Summit. (n.d.), from https://www.g20.org/en/g20-india-2023/new-delhi-summit/

5.       Overview of G20 | Ministry Of Earth Sciences. (n.d.), from https://moes.gov.in/g20-india-2023/moes-g20?language_content_entity=en

6.       Policy Priorities for the G20: One Earth One Family One Future. (2023, February 22). IMF. https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/02/22/policy-priorities-for-the-g20-one-earth-one-family-one-future

7.       Singh, S. C., & Kraemer, C. (2023, February 25). G20 fails to reach consensus on Russia-Ukraine war. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/g20-fails-reach-consensus-russia-ukraine-war-sources-2023-02-25/

8.       Ukraine war important point of discussion at G20 meet, says India. (n.d.) from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/1/ukraine-war-important-point-of-discussion-at-g20-meet-says-india

Pic Courtsey-Celeste MC at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)