Democratise international relations, put people first: PM Modi

PM Modi will be hosting G20 heads of states for the leaders' summit on Sept 9-10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon world leaders to put people at the centre of the international cooperation agenda as he prepares to host a G20 heads of state and government summit in New Delhi over the weekend.

In an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, Modi insisted on the need for “credible multilateralism”, which would include reformed international institutions and greatly-enhanced connection between the people of the world through avenues such as trade, tourism and mobility of talent.

“The interconnected nature of our world today can become a strength for peace and progress if we focus on a people-centric policy,” he said.

Modi is hosting the leaders of the world’s largest economies during a momentous time for the world order. India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, is rising in influence as it shapes a multipolar world order in which the United States and China are preparing to confront each other.

“The new world order is multipolar. Every country agrees with another country on a few issues and disagrees on others,” he said.

Modi was instrumental in ensuring a leaders’ declaration at the previous G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. His phrase--today’s era must not be of war—bridged the deep divides and enabled a consensus to be formed.

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The New Delhi summit, which is the eighteenth meeting of G20 leaders, is the most high-profile gathering of world leaders ever to be hosted in India. US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are among the prominent leaders attending. Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. China, which is battling a deepening property crisis and a shaky economy, will be represented by premier Li Qiang.

Modi’s philosophy of putting people at the centre of foreign policy and international affairs has extended to India, too. G20 meetings, instead of being confined to New Delhi, were democratised and hosted at dozens of locations across the country.

“Our democratisation of the G20 Presidency is our investment in the capacity building of the people, especially youth, of various cities across the country,” he said.

G20 sherpas, who are the envoys of the heads of government, will conclude their final meeting in Manesar, Haryana, on Thursday. They will attempt to firm up a document that will reflect the consensus of the leaders.

India has been a unique power in a world of bitterly-divided blocs. The conflict in Ukraine has cleaved Russia from the West, but Modi is the rare leader of a major power who is on good terms with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and American President Biden.

“We have close relations with many different countries, some of which find themselves on different sides on certain issues. But one common factor is both such countries have strong ties with India,” Modi said.

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And the fact that India is an important power player with solid equations across the board is because of growing strength at home, said Modi, who enjoys consistently high ratings in surveys by domestic and international agencies. He posited that India’s rising international profile was a direct consequence of a stable government since 2014 with a clear agenda for development.

“Whenever any country interacted with us, they knew they were interacting with an aspirational India that was looking to partner with them in their progress while also taking care of its own interests.”