Nishant Bhaiji
NEW DELHI: India will work towards building consensus amongst G20 members on key issues of the Global South. As the post-pandemic recovery has been hit by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Global South is bearing the brunt of high costs, interrupted and skewed supply of fuel, food and fertilisers. Many developing nations are on the verge of defaulting on their debt repayments.
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on numerous occasions has emphasised that the nation’s G20 agenda has come through a consultative process. India has consciously and vigorously set its priorities in accordance with needs and demands of the Global South.
“Our #G20India priorities reflect not just the aspirations of our G20 partners, but also the global south, whose voice is often unheard. The Indian Presidency will provide a platform to our neighbours in the global south to discuss and resolve pertinent issues and challenges,” Kant wrote on Twitter, on December 12. India will work towards exploring ways of supporting the development of social welfare institutions in developing countries. It will use the forum to secure, “financial commitments to support a just transition” of developing countries from nonrenewable sources to renewable sources of energy.
India will also push for reforms in the international multilateral institutions like the IMF and the WTO that are involved in economic governance. The global scenario appears bleak, “but every crisis is an opportunity,” Kant said. This is India’s opportunity to reform the multinational institutions and be the voice of the Global South.