New Delhi, September 8
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said the Summit had achieved Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making the event inclusive, ambitious, decisive and result-oriented.
Not commenting on whether a Joint Declaration will be issued at the end of the meeting, Kant enumerated six broad priorities where G20 under India’s Presidency has been successful in getting its message across. The G20 will push for bold and sustained, strong and inclusive growth; accelerate sustainable development goals, take the lead on green development in context of climate action and finance; focus on multilateral institution set up in the 21st century; technology development and Digital Public Infrastructure and, lastly, women-led development, empowerment and gender equality.
Underlying New Delhi’s commitment to the Global South, Kant pointed out that India had started the G20 presidency with a meeting of 125 leaders. “Since then, we have remained focused on the requirements of developing countries. The PM’s vision of a very inclusive presidency is our aim,’’ he observed.
Former Foreign Secretary and G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla pointed out that 220 events were staged in 60 different cities, in keeping with the PM’s vision of having at least one G20 meeting in every state and UT. “This is cooperative federalism at its best. It gave us the opportunity to highlight and showcase India’s cultural heritage and tourism potential. One lakh visitors from 125 nationalities discovered a new India,’’ he observed.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra called the G20 the largest ever of the 18 editions held so far and revealed that the Foreign Office is structuring sideline events involving India and visiting heads of state governments.
