G20 PRESIDENCY: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA TO PLAY PEACE-MAKER

India will assume the G20 Presidency for a year from 1 December this year. For a year, New Delhi will chair over 200 meetings with the focus on securing global economic growth and prosperity. Needless to say, the presidency of this elite group will provide India an opportunity to assume the mantle of a peace-maker at the global stage as well. There is hardly any doubt that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India would be able to fulfill its responsibility as a peace-maker. Analysts rightly point out that without peace and tranquility across the globe, prosperity and economic development in the world cannot be achieved. While the developing and developed nations alike are still struggling to recover from the terrific blow that the Covid-19 dealt during the last two years, there must be some serious and action-oriented efforts to ensure that the world remains free from war and geopolitical tensions.
This is exactly what PM Modi also sought to convey when he on Wednesday noted, “India is taking the charge of presidency of G20 at a time when the world is grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown and rising food and energy prices.” The Indian premier, in fact, gave a glimpse into the issues that are going to receive primacy during India’s presidency. Peace and tranquility in the world is, obviously, one of the issues that India would be focusing on during its presidency of G20. When PM Modi highlighted concern about the geopolitical tussles at the time of taking over the presidency of G20, he would not have referred to it without having a concrete plan to ensure collective global efforts to restore peace globally with India in a leading peace-making role. “India’s G20 presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.” These words of PM Modi should be seen in this context, as he made these remarks in a signal to major powers like the US and the other western and European countries who have taken sides in the proxy war in Ukraine. The Indian leader’s message was also to the west bloc which has been trying to isolate Russia by means of sanctions. What the Indian leader sought to suggest was that this kind of attitude and behavior, which does not promote the idea of inclusiveness and collective efforts, would be counterproductive and would stall the mission to ensure global peace. India took a consistent and objective view of the developments following the war in Ukraine while maintaining good relations with the nations in all the quarters. What is also a good augury is that India has the credibility to be always on the side of the peace amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Even at the G20 summit in Bali, PM Modi’s stress was on the need for the warring nations to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. So, this consistent position of India would help it to lead the G20 group towards a meaningful objective as has been highlighted by PM Modi.
“In the next one year it will be our endeavor that G20 works as a global prime mover to give impetus to collective action,” the PM said. This is the reason why all the nations of the G20 group are looking towards India with high hopes and expectations that something different would be achieved in future under India’s presidency. UK Prime Minister Rishik Sunak said that there’s excitement about India taking over the G20 presidency. This is how Australian PM Anthony Albanese, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni reacted after India took over the presidency in Bali. This kind of reaction from the world leaders who were earlier pressuring India to rebuke Russia and back their sanctions suggest that all they respect India’s position vis-à-vis the developments in the wake of conflict in Ukraine. All they hold India in high esteem just because of its unambiguous views that always advocated peace, and its independent foreign policy, despite tremendous pressure from various quarters during the Russia-Ukraine tensions. “G20 will act as a catalyst for global change during India’s presidency.” This statement of PM Modi gives the world community a lot of hope for a change for the better.  So with this in view, India during its G20 presidency must go ahead with more comprehensive and solid efforts and plans to unite the countries and global forums for the collective peace mission so that the desired goal of economic development could be achieved to fight global poverty and hunger.
T. BRAJESH