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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know countries,” while noting “Especially developing and least developed countries which are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic disruption which has derailed progress towards the SDGs. There were dif- ferent views and assessments of the situation.” While recalling the discussion in Bali with regard to the war in Ukraine, the Declaration further added, “We [the G20 leaders] reiterated our national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly (A/RES/ES-11/1 and A/RES/ ES-11/6) and underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in its entirety…” The Declaration however prominently echoed PM Modi’s Samarkhand statement that “Today’s era is not an era of war” and his vision that “Use, or threat of the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.” Notably, the Summit began with the absence of Rus- sian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jin- ping, President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and President of Spain Pedro Sánchez. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang were present at the Summit. Even though, Putin was missing in international conferences since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Jinping attended the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November, and the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in August this year. “We look forward to the successful hosting of the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi under the Indian G20 Presidency. We note the opportunities to build sustained momentum for change by India, Brazil, and South Africa presiding over the G20 from 2023 to 2025,” noted a joint statement adopted during the BRICS Summit. Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, while pointing out that the Declaration has 83 paragraphs and has cov- ered a lot of subjects said, “Considerable time was spent especially in the last few days in regard to geopolitical issues, which really centered around the war in Ukraine,” while noting “Everybody helped because everybody came together for the consensus… I think the emerging markets took a particular lead on this…many of us have strong history of working together.” When questioned about the phrase “There were differ- ent views and assessments of the situation” in the para- graph that discusses the Ukraine war, Jaishankar clarified “I think we are being transparent. I mean, it is a fact this is today, a very polarizing issue. There are multiple views on this. You know, there are a spectrum of views on this. So, I think in all fairness, it was only right to record what was the reality in the meeting rooms and I think that is the sense that is sought to be captured.” The New Delhi G20 Summit also inducted the African Union as a permanent member of the G20. Regarding the Global South, Jaishankar said that India’s G20 Presidency sought “To ensure that the concerns of the Global South constitute the core agenda of G20 deliberations because after three years of pandemic, after economic disrup- tions of various kinds, after the impact of the Ukraine conflict, after climate events, the fact is that the countries of the Global South are in deep economic distress.” He further emphasized “And that distress has not in our view been fully recognized till now. And we therefore very consciously started off with the voice of the Global South Summit…” As a premier global forum for international economic cooperation, the G20 leaders in the Declaration com- mitted to matters such as fostering robust inclusive economic growth, expediting comprehensive execution of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda, pursuing pathways to low greenhouse gas emissions and resilient climate change solutions, improving access to medi- cal countermeasures, addressing debt vulnerabilities in developing countries, advocating reforms to enhance the effectiveness of Multilateral Development Banks, and striving to narrow gender disparities and empower women in decision-making roles. Narendra Modi @narendramodi “History has been created with the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. United in consensus and spirit, we pledge to work collaboratively for a better, more prosperous, and harmo- nious future. My gratitude to all fellow G20 members for their support and cooperation.” The Declaration reached consensus on various issues under sections including “strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth; accelerating progress on Sustain- able Development Goals (SDGs); green development pact for a sustainable future; multilateral institutions for the 21st century; technological transformation and digital public infrastructure; international taxation; gender equality and empowering all women and girls; financial sector issues, countering terrorism and money launder- ing; and creating a more inclusive world.” Meanwhile, a G20 joint statement from the United States, India, Brazil, and South Africa said, “We, the Lead- ers of India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States, met on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi to reaffirm our shared commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for international economic coopera- tion to deliver solutions for our shared world.” G20 Adopts Leaders Declaration Under India’s Presidency India Hands Over G20 Presidency To Brazil -NEW DELHI I ndia on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, for- mally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping, that was held in New Delhi this weekend. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. India has had the presidency of the G20 since Dec. 1, when it took over from Indonesia, and will continue to hold the position until Nov. 30. During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including that of food and energy security, climate change and global debt vulner- abilities. Modi, on Sunday, also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members and determine “how their progress can be accelerated”. “In that session, we can review the topics decided during this summit,” Modi said, adding that details would be shared with members. -Reuters President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit held in New Delhi Sept. 9 and 10. Brazil took over the presidency from India. Indonesia President Joko Widodo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, United States President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and lay a wreath at Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi on Sept. 10, 2023. Photo:X @India’s Ministryof External Affairs Photo:ANI Photo:X @narendramodi Leaders at the G20 countries discuss some of the issues at the summit in New Delhi, Sept. 9, 2023. - Continued From Page 4 5 COVER STORY September 15, 2023