New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said while there are “sharp differences, opinions and views” among the G20 membership, the grouping should find a “common ground” to address challenges of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, impact of the pandemic, debt crisis and disruption of supply chains. The minister said this while inaugurating the first session of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting taking place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi Thursday. India is chairing the G20 for the first time this year. These meetings will be culminating into a summit meeting in September this year.
"We may not always be of one mind. In fact, there are some matters of sharp differences, of opinions and views. Yet we must find common ground and provide direction because that is what the world expects of us,” Jaishankar said in his opening remarks.
He said going forward the world will be facing “more pressing” and “systemic challenges”.
"The future of multilateralism depends very much on our ability to strengthen it in a changing world. Food and energy securities are immediate anxieties magnified by recent events. But they do have long-term repercussions and solutions,” he said, adding that the solution can be development cooperation.
Batting for a reform of multilateralism, particularly the United Nations (UN), Jaishankar said the body has failed to reflect today’s politics, economics or demographics.
"Since 2005, we have heard sentiments for reform being expressed at the highest level. But as we all know, these are not materialised. The reasons are no secret either. The longer we put it off, the more the credibility of multilateralism stands eroded. Global decision making must be democratized if it has to have a future,” said Jaishankar.
India’s G20 presidency has been overshadowed by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has continued for more than a year. The western countries, especially those in the Europe, have tried all methods to try and make India speak against Russia but have failed.
It was only once last year that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “this is not an era of war” to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. However, Moscow has only intensified its actions against Ukraine since then.
‘Challenges Of Food, Fertilisers And Fuel Security’
Without mentioning the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war even once in his opening remarks, Jaishankar said the problem of food, fertilisers and fuel security are “make or break issues for developing countries” as he highlighted the problems facing the so-called Global South.
India hosted a special summit of the Global South last month in the run-up to the G20 meetings in an effort to find a common ground on the challenges facing these group of countries.
"We heard their concerns directly in January this year through the Voice of Global South Summit. Such issues should not be relegated to the periphery of the international discourse. They are in fact, crucial to the global economy and must be treated as such. Indeed, we urge that they be central to any decision making,” Jaishankar said.
He added: “The G20 must be sensitive to the priorities and economic concerns of all our partners, especially those more vulnerable. We must ensure demand driven and sustainable development cooperation based on country ownership and transparency. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity are essential guiding principles for such cooperation.”