India called for a united global approach to challenges. In his talk to the G20 development ministers in Varanasi, India’s EAM Jaishankar laid out an ambitious and detailed roadmap for the G20 nations to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.
President of the G20 India called for a united approach by global powers to the multitudes of challenges faced by our world. At the G20 Development Ministers’ meeting being held in Varanasi, India, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said that the prospects for a global economic recovery remain bleak due to supply chain disruptions, a protracted financial crisis, and constraints on oil, food, and fertilizer security.
To counter the challenges, India has proposed an ambitious plan of action spanning over the next seven years to expedite the progress towards attainting the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations. The plan entails a detailed, inclusive, and integrated roadmap for actions by the G20 nations.
India’s Ambitious Roadmap
The extensive roadmap laid out by India is centered around infrastructural development in terms of digital public infrastructure complimented by development through data fostering. India also called for empowering women-led development and transitioning energy from perishable sources to cleaner sources in a bid to preserve the environment.
Upon highlighting the vicissitudes of the world, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three core agendas of transformative actions that the roadmap puts forward while also cementing the unwavering commitment of the G20 agenda.
Core Agendas of The Roadmap
The first area, EAM Jaishankar stated, is bold decisive steps on promoting data for development and digital public infrastructure, both of which are required around the world to kickstart grassroots innovation. The second area is investing in women-led development, and the third is ensuring “globally just” transitions that will aid in the planet’s future sustenance as well as survival.
According to EAM Jaishankar, these transformative activities will work as a force multiplier for accelerating progress across the SDGs and will lead to a more effective and stronger multilateral system. India invited the G20 nations to be “bold in our ambition.” EAM Jaishankar reiterated the theme of G20 under India’s presidency as a cause for urgent action: One Earth, One Family, One Future.
Touching upon the venue of the G20 development ministers meeting in Varanasi, EAM Jaishankar states that it was befitting for the Development ministers of the 20 biggest economies of the world to meet in the eternal city to punctuate the crucial development agenda that aims to propel global efforts to help those in need.
India’s “Biggest Achievement”
The roadmap proposed by India at the Development Ministers’ meeting at Varanasi was unanimously endorsed by the group including Russia and China, leading India’s EAM Jaishankar to brand this as the G20’s biggest achievement attained under India’s presidency. He continued to claim that the Group of 20 rose out of politics to recognise the reality of serious issues troubling the Global South, realigning the focus of the group back to development.
Russia and China Withhold Consensus Statement
Continuing the trend set in the Finance Ministers’ meeting as well as the Foreign Ministers’ meeting held earlier this year, the Development Ministers’ meetings failed to agree on a joint communique due to objections from Russia and China with respect to several passages on the Russia-Ukraine war.
The biggest challenge faced by India’s presidency of the G20 is to pre-empt the possibility of the Russia-Ukraine war preventing a join leaders’ declaration at the Heads of State summit later this year. With Russia and China compliant of the agenda and the plans of actions set forth by India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EAM Jaishankar must find a way to circumvent the deadlock between Russia-China and the G20 on the Russia-Ukraine war.