New Delhi: The G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting kicked off on Thursday at Rashtrapati Bhavan with a video message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he signalled the need for ‘unity of purpose’ as well as ‘unity of action’ at a time when “multilateralism” is in a state of “crisis”.
He said that the last few years of financial crises, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and war clearly show that global governance has failed in both its mandates.
“We must also admit that the tragic consequences of this failure are being faced most by developing countries”.
Modi said he hoped that the meeting today will reflect the spirit of coming together for achieving common and concrete objectives.
In his video address, the PM said that after years of progress, there is a risk of moving back on the Sustainable Development Goals. “Many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt, while trying to ensure food and energy security for their people. They are also the ones most affected by global warming caused by richer countries.”
He said India’s G20 Presidency has tried to give a voice to the Global South as no group can claim leadership without the ones most affected by the decision.
Modi stated that it is natural that the discussions today will be affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day. And while there are different perspectives and positions on how these global tensions should be resolved, as leading economies there is a responsibility towards those who are not in this room.
“The world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, trans-national crime, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security. In all these areas, the G20 has the capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results,” the prime minister said
“The G20 has a critical role to play in finding the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand, and resilience on the other. We can reach this balance more easily by working together. That is why your meeting is important”, PM Modi said in the message.
India has selected the theme of "One Earth. One Family. One Future" as theme of India's G20 Presidency. The prime minister hoped that the meeting will help the top diplomats arrive at a common objective.
G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting under India's G20 presidency is being held in New Delhi. The gathering of top diplomats include US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
This is the second ministerial meeting being held under India's Presidency so far. The first ministerial meeting, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, was held in Bengaluru.