G20 Presidency may be rotational in character. But India has demonstrated two things: one, the Presidency has convening power; and two, the Presidency can make a difference in crucial areas.
It is easy to forget that there are still something like 75 days remaining in India’s Presidency. That is a lot of time or too little time, depending on your perspective. Either way, some things can and should be done. The following is an illustrative list.
(1) As I have argued elsewhere, the PM must convene another “Voice of the Global South Summit” on the same virtual basis as it did in January 2023. The participants can hear first hand from the PM and the EAM the priorities emphasized by India as G20 President, the challenges faced in this regard and how it overcame them to produce a consensus document of such substance. They can also get valuable feedback on how the Global South views the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration.
(2) The Sustainable Development Report 2023 which will be formally launched on September18, 2023 makes terrible reading. Some excerpts:
> At the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda all of the SDGs are seriously off track.
>At their core SDGs are an investment agenda. It is critical that UN Member States implement the SDG stimulus and support a comprehensive reform of the global financial architecture.
>The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SSDN) which is a global network of more than 1,900 member organizations, mainly universities, organized in 53 national and regional chapters will double down on efforts to implement SDGs beyond 2030.
> Need to increase funding to national and subnational governments and private businesses, especially in lower income countries, to carry out needed SDG investments.
> Need to revise the credit rating system and debt sustainability metrics to facilitate long-term sustainable development.
> Need to revise liquidity structures for lower income countries, especially regarding sovereign debts, to forestall self-fulfilling banking and balance-of-payments crises;
> Need to create ambitious, internationally-agreed upon criteria for sustainable finance that are mandatory for all public financial institutions.
> Need to align private business investment flows with the SDGs, through improved national planning, regulation, reporting, and oversight.
> Need to reform current institutional frameworks and develop new mechanisms to improve the quality and speed of deployment of international cooperation, and monitor progress in an open and timely manner.
The above agenda is vast and is not easy to implement. But India is best positioned to at least initiate work in this regard. The second part of the road map proposed by the NK Singh/Larry Summers will be out by October, when India will still be G20 President. Work can and should begin on implementation of key recommendations of the NK Singh/Larry Summers roadmap reforming Multilateral Development Banks. India and key emerging countries of the G20 must have tough conversations with G7 countries on this, if necessary.
The New Delhi G20 Summit was a resounding success. India must now build on it and must truly make the transition from a rule-taker to a rule-shaper. And what better place to start than a comprehensive reform of the global financial architecture which will provide substantial financial resources to poor countries enabling them to make concrete progress in their 2030 SDG agenda.
Lastly, India came up with a remarkable number of norm setting “principles” in the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration: High-Level Principles on Green Hydrogen, Global Bio-Fuels Alliance, Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition, Chennai High-Level principles for a sustainable and resilient blue ocean-based economy, Goa roadmap on Tourism and the Jaipur Call for Action on SMSEs, to name a few.
The Prime Minister’s Office would do well to form an inter-ministerial task force for reviewing progress on the above High-Level Principles. India, which has received legitimate kudos for the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration must ensure that it is just as efficient when it comes to full implementation. Indeed, India must work with Brazil and South Africa (the next two Presidents) so that a balance sheet can be provided on all of the above critical issues in the forthcoming G20 Summits. The virtual G20 Summit proposed by PM Modi to conclude India’s Presidency can provide an excellent opportunity for such stock taking.
Diplomacy and Geopolitics 