G20 bridged strong positions, deep divides: EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has said the G20 bridged strong positions, deep divides and turned out to be far better than most people expected. "About 3 weeks ago, I was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. I must share with you that the G20 was very much the subject of conversation. A lot of people were still a little surprised that the G20 could bridge what were strong positions and deep divides," the EAM said while addressing the G20 tree plantation ceremony at Nehru Park in Delhi. "Many other countries also took particular satisfaction at the permanent membership of the African Union at the G20. But overall there was a sense in global diplomacy that this G20 actually delivered very substantively on what were the most pressing issues of the day. It turned out far better than most people expected," he added.

India took over the G20 presidency on December 1 last year at the summit in Bali and will continue to hold the mantle till the end of November. India's theme for the G20 Presidency is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', which translates to 'One Earth One Family One Future'. The EAM said there are two reasons to be satisfied with India's G20 presidency. The first is that "in the totality of global diplomacy at a very difficult time in international politics, G20 was a big plus on the positive side of the global ledger." The second reason is that the G20 has made India far more connected with the rest of the world.

The EAM further said: "As we bask in the afterglow of the Summit (G20), I am often asked - tell me what did you really get done? When I look at what we got done, to me the four-five key takeaways were the action plan for the SDG which directly fed into the SDG Summit which happened after the G20 - the Green Development Pact, the message of women-led development, the support for digital public infrastructure, the LiFE Mission. At the end of it all, there was a very strong sustainability, green, global south image that came out of the G20..."

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister PK Mishra recently discussed the upcoming G20 Virtual Summit, an initiative proposed by PM Narendra Modi in his remarks during the New Delhi Summit. Since this is the first time that any country will host such a virtual Summit following the main Summit, the Principal Secretary emphasised the need for prompt dissemination of information to all member-states and guest countries. During the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra briefed the Principal Secretary on the preparations for the second Voice of Global South Summit, which is also scheduled to be held in November 2023.