India’s role as the G20 chair is being viewed as a real opportunity for it to share the experiences of the global South with the rest of the world. India assumed the Presidency of the G20, or Group of 20, an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies, for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023. The other members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S., and the European Union (EU). The G20 harbours about two thirds of the world population from all continents and comprises global and regional key players for several of the world’s present hotspots.
At a time of geopolitical uncertainty and strong interdependencies there is a need for more effective global governance. The G20 provides a positive force but there are well-founded concerns with regard to its scope at a time when some of the leading members are divided on a range of issues. The global south has always felt that the G20 is an elitist group that excludes the concerns and requirements of the developing world. The G20 was founded on the premise that the world needs global coordination and global problem solving. As the chair for the forum of the largest industrial and emerging states India will have to demonstrate its diplomatic powers and ensure transnational coordination to tackle challenges like – restructuring distressed country debts, climate change, conflict, and efforts to mitigate these challenges through renewable energy, poverty reduction, peace-building, access to education and health.
Innovation in Global Governance:
At a time when the Bretton Woods institutions are seen as not representing current economic and demographic realities anymore, there is a strong functional need for an agile body like the G20 where powerful countries meet, share views, to coordinate and solve the economic challenges threatening the world economy. The UN processes are also perceived as not being flexible or quick enough for political consensus-building. The world faced its last major global crisis twelve years ago, and the G20 demonstrated its capability with regard to tackling the 2008 financial crisis. Most observers called the G20 the premier forum for economic cooperation.’ However, since its successful role in mitigation of the 2008 financial crisis, some of the bold ambitions of the G20 have faded as the forum has proved unable to shift from crisis fighting to managing a forward-thinking agenda. Emerging countries are pushing for decentralisation, devolution and diversification of the structure and processes of international economic governance. States that have traditionally been marginalised in the major forum of global economic governance, are seeking new partnerships as a hedge against future uncertainties.
India today is uniquely placed – as in it is not a classic developing country, but an emerging economy, participating both in the trade unions and also the management systems of the world. It can therefore as Chair of the G20 highlight the new ties of cooperation between emerging countries, their increased integration into the global economic system, and bring in new sources of change and coordination in global economic governance. Decisions taken at the G20 meetings have broader global implications and consequences and so India’s Presidency must focus on bringing forth the concerns of the marginalised majority in shaping the G20 agenda.
Beyond ‘The 20’:
From the original mission of overcoming the financial crisis the scope of the G20 has expanded to include financial market regulation, addressing global economic imbalances, the avoidance of fiscal and monetary competition, energy and climate policy, the promotion of development, social inclusion, a more equitable distribution of wealth and much more.It expanded beyond the core financial and macro-economic issues to include social and environmental topics such as development, labour, anti-corruption, energy, environment, health and migration agendas. Nevertheless, this broadening of the G20 agenda has not led to an increase in the impact of its action plans. And although the G20 was never formally dealing with issues of international security, the summits are often sites of frantic informal diplomacy on major security crises.
At present the world is recovering from two years of the pandemic, an ongoing war in Ukraine and a contestation between the US and China and the response of the G20 to date has been tepid and, unlike in the last crisis, totally inadequate to the challenge. If the forum is unable the result may be an overall destabilising effect on multilateral cooperation and global governance for years to come. The G20 had emerged as the principal forum for economic cooperation, replacing the Group of Seven (G7), because the global economy had changed significantly and the role of the G7 countries in that global economy had shrunk. emerging markets India, China, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa had become so economically important that they had to be involved in global economic decision-making. A similar situation exists today. The balance of global economic power has shifted further since the crisis. If the G20 is unable to accommodate the problems of the global south, it will no longer be able to dictate global policy. Despite calls for more international cooperation, the contestation between the rising states and other emerging countries, on the one hand, and the traditional powers, on the other, has meant that brokering political consensus for collective action and restoring stable growth to the global economy has been a back seat. As President of the G20 India will have to demonstrate strategic thinking in terms of broadening the sense of ownership or the decisions of the G20, beyond ‘the 20.’
The Focus of India’s Presidency – A Shared Future:
India is making the most of its opportunity to host the eighteenth G20 Summit in later this year, which is just one part of G20 activity, as it is assisted by an impressive machinery of meetings of the leaders’ representatives (sherpas), ministers and working groups throughout the year. The Indian government has planned to hold over 200 meetings of member states, invitees and organisations in over fifty cities across India in the run up to the summit meet in September 2023. The idea is to use the Summit preparations to put in motion an ambitious global diplomatic agenda that places the development concerns of the global South at the centre of their Summit agenda.
The theme of India’s G20 Presidency – “One Earth, One Family,One Future” is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.” The theme essentially affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth highlighting environmentally sustainable and responsible choices, both at the level of individual lifestyles as well as national development, leading to globally transformative actions resulting in a cleaner, greener and bluer future. India’s Presidency of the G20 coincides with major challenges in governance of energy marking a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, concerns about energy security. Under such geopolitics financial commitments towards climate change have become complicated to fulfil. India should try to pursue increased financial support to developing countries for a successful climate action and energy transition. India is apparently also designing a proposal to try to persuade member countries to take a big haircut in lending to nations badly hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic and Ukraine war.
It is interesting to note that all three members of a mechanism such as the international tripartite grouping IBSA Dialogue Forum – India, Brazil and South Africa will be holding the Presidency of the G20 consecutively in 2023, ‘24 and ‘25. During uncertain times for global economic governance and mounting challenges for the multilateral, rules-based international order India’s G20 presidency will require considerable diplomatic skills and demonstration of global leadership. For countries like India which are neither members of the G8, nor permanent members of the UN Security Council it is crucial that the G20 assume a prominent role in global governance with a comprehensive agenda.
