G20 Highlights 2023- Changed G20 Forever By India

G-20, you must have heard this word in the last few days, and this event was a big victory for India. The interesting thing is that the world media had predicted that the G-20 summit would fail. We will not be able to handle it. But India proved all those critics wrong. India is the President of G-20 in 2023, more than 200 events were planned in cities of all the states and union territory of India, in which big leaders from all over the world, and a total of 25,000 people from 125 nationalities participated and you will be shocked to know but India got 100% consensus. This is a huge victory for India but what does it mean? What difference does just having meetings make? Did we just talk or even achieve anything in this presidency?

There are five big victories about which we’ll know in this Article.

G-20 countries represent 60% of the world’s population, 75% of trade, and 85% of GDP. The Asian Financial Crisis occurred in 1997, which had an impact on the entire world. Before G-20, G-7 was the original alliance, But after the Asian Financial Crisis, they realized that if they wanted economic stability, then cooperation of other countries was also needed. In 1999, new faces appeared, Today G-20 is formed by combining 19 countries and the European Union.

India’s G20 Presidency: A Showcase of Changing India and a Call for Global Cooperation

The G-20 Presidency is an an excellent opportunity to present the face of changing India to the world, and that is what India did. The seamless payment facility of UPI, culture, or the developing infrastructure. Bharat Mandapam, India’s most hi-tech convention centre spread over 123 acres. It was inaugurated on 26th July 2023 at Pragati Maidan. Big leaders of the world like America’s President Jo Biden, UK’s PM Rishi Sunak, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese were present here. This year India was the President of G-20, so with this presidency comes some special powers. The power to specially invite countries other than the G-20 countries. India used this power well and invited countries like Bangladesh, Singapore, and UAE.

Among these big names, two important names were missing, and that is China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy was also not seen at the G20 summit, These countries are part of the G-20, yet they did not come to the summit. Due to the absence of these people, many media houses had predicted that India’s G20 would fail this year, but something else happened. India presented the plan for Digital Public Infrastructure in front of these big leaders. Digital Public Infrastructure i.e. DPI, includes technologies like india’s Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker. Just like India have DPI, different countries also have it. If all the countries share technologies, we can create better systems. This is the proposal India put forward to the world leaders, and wanted to establish the One Future Alliance, that is why it was important for all these leaders to come together on one platform.

Along with this, leaders of the African Union were also present here. You see, the presence of developed countries or developing countries is understandable, but why was Africa here?

India Made The African Union A Part Of The G-20, But Why ?

This G20 summit is going to be historical and the main reason for this is Africa. India has expanded G-20 to G-21 forever. Africa will also be a part of this global group. Just as the G-7 countries included the developing countries of Asia, similarly India made the African Union a part of the G-20. This is a big move But why ?

African Union consists of 55 countries, whose total population is 1.3 billion. These include important countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Africa is important because Africa is the world’s biggest investment opportunity.

Africa has a demographic dividend because their entire population is very young. The average age here is only 18. Kenya’s Silicon Savannah is becoming Africa’s Silicon Valley, which is creating start-ups not by copy-pasting but by solving local problems. Africa is considered the treasure chest of the world, where agriculture, and rare minerals like diamond, gold, and lithium are found, which will form the technology of the future, literally like Wakanda. Therefore, the way and respect with which the African Union was welcomed at the G-20, was a big victory for India.

Imagine, how much trust will increase for India in African countries because of this one move. Recently news came that India is going to invest 150 billion dollars in Africa. The African partners’ trust in Indian leadership is nothing less than a master stroke.

G-20 Vision: The World Economic Growth By Helping Hands

Amitabh Kant was the Sherpa of G-20. He has said that this year’s G-20 will be known for its impact because we have achieved 112 outcomes, That means our discussions brought results which include important results like economic growth, sustainable development, climate change, finance, private sector involvement, and eliminating child labour. At the same time, India has also used this opportunity to show the mirror to the world.

New Delhi Declaration

India said that we will not be able to achieve the sustainable development goals that the whole world has set for 2030. Only 12% of the targets are on track, and we all need to gear up and work hard. All these things are part of the New Delhi Declaration and the surprising thing is that countries like Ukraine have also expressed support for India. In the last one year, India adopted the path of non-alignment in the Ukraine-Russia Conflict. Ukraine’s leadership is upset with India about this, but getting their support in the New Delhi Declaration was a big victory.

Today there is a lot of tension in the world at the geopolitics level. Like Ukraine, there is a possibility of an attack on Taiwan at any moment. A new cold war may start with China. In such a situation, reaching a consensus on all these issues in the G-20 is a big victory for India and it is not about 1-2 issues, it is about 112 different issues.

Indirect Support To India Against China And Pakistan

You must have noticed that G-20 events were taking place in different states and different cities in India. This means that G-20 events took place in Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir also. This is an excellent diplomatic victory because no country directly stands up against Pakistan or more importantly China, but the leaders of these countries attended the Indian G-20 events held in Kashmir and Arunachal.

This was an indirect support for India and this message must have reached the leadership of Pakistan and China. Planning any big event in Kashmir is a challenge. One small mistake, one security failure, and negative headlines around the world, this was a very feasible possibility but India has proved on a global stage that stability is coming back in Kashmir.

It was just a few days ago that the incidences of stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir have reduced by 99%, Law and order is returning. Similarly, hosting the G-20 meetings in Arunachal is an important message for China, because China keeps building its settlements on the borders of Arunachal. China had recently released a new map where they had declared Ladakh and Arunachal as part of their mainland. The G-20 meetings held there were a soft message against China’s ambitions.

India-Middle East-Europe Corridor A Big Deal: Joe Biden

India-Middle East-Europe Corridor. China’s flagship project is the Belt and Road Initiative, through which China wants to connect many countries in Asia with Europe. In this, China has already invested close to one trillion dollars, either by giving low-interest loans or by starting construction contracts and this step by China has shaken the whole world. During Covid, the world realized how dependent it is on China.

Despite directly impacting the world economy, no one has been able to do any harm to China, and there are two main reasons for this. One, the entire world’s supply chain is dependent on China. And two, all the world organizations like the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization are in China’s pocket. After BRI, China’s influence on world trade will increase further. So there is a strong need for an alternative so that trade remains free and open. No one should have dominance here and with this objective India-Middle East-Europe Corridor is going to be launched.

Here we are going to use railways and waterways. Along with us, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Jordan, and the United States will be part of this project. Along with this, France, Germany, Italy, and some EU countries will also participate in it. Here PM Modi has highlighted an important thing.

CONNECTIVITY IS NOT JUST IMPORTANT TO EXPAND TRADE, BUT ALSO BUILD TRUST.

PM Modi

That photo is going to be a nightmare for China, where Saudi’s MBS is shaking hands with the President of America. In this grand project, India will connect to UAE through the sea route, then the connection will be made to Europe via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. Within the next 60 days, its plan will be made and its execution will also start. And this is not India, The American President himself has said this. This is India’s impact, which is the result of foreign visits in the last few months. The next step would be for India to bid for the permanent member seat of the United Nations Security Council.

Conclusion

The truth is that 2023 is going to be an important year in world history. This year will be remembered in the pages of history because India has now taken up the responsibility of Global South leadership. India has raised its voice on issues that other countries only talk about or ignore. Yes, there were many shortcomings in the organization of G20, and many mistakes were also made. Those who used to highlight only India’s failure are now talking about Chandrayaan, Aditya L1, and G-20 as well. This change is refreshing and also necessary. Here it is not about the name but the work, and bringing this important change.

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