India’s G20 presidency has expanded the area of the possible

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

An overriding question in inter-country configurations is about navigating the path of the best possible, without losing sight of long-term geo-strategic goals, ticking the most number of boxes in intra-regional interests in the broader geo-political calculus, and keeping domestic economic and trade interests as paramount on the priority list.

Seen through this prism, India’s G20 presidency has expanded the area of the possible, coming as it does at a time when the world has been buffeted by persistently high inflation, geo-political uncertainty and an ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and uncertain global trade headwinds.

Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, or One World, One Family, One Future - the theme of the G20 Summit 2023 - is an attempt to reinforce a human-centred approach to solving international problems.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, underscored the importance of the theme, saying that this mirrored the world’s “widespread acknowledgement of India's words, work and vision as both inclusive and effective, nationally and internationally”.

“So, when we laid out our agenda for the G20, it was welcomed universally, because everyone knew that we would bring our proactive and positive approach to help find solutions for global issues,” the prime minister said.

It may be worthwhile to raise two questions about India’s role in the broader global economic and strategic goals drawing from two larger strands. First, how do we estimate the gains from India’s G20 presidency for the Global South?  Second, how do we ensure that an incipient global trade framework, which involves not just measurable metrics of comparative and competitive advantage, but also intangibles, including climate issues, will not end up accentuating inequalities between the developed and the not-so-developed worlds?

Prime Minister Modi was upfront on this. “The new world order is multipolar. Every country agrees with another country on a few issues and disagrees on others. Having accepted this reality, a way forward is worked out based on their own national interests” he said.

India was also doing the same. It has close relations with many different countries, some of which find themselves on different sides of the fence on certain issues. The common thread, however, was that such countries that have differing viewpoints on certain matters have strong ties with India.

“As the G20 president, we are also launching a bio-fuel alliance that will help countries meet their energy needs while also empowering a planet-friendly circular economy,” Modi said.

As a global configuration, the G20 is nearing its 25th year of institution, which may be an appropriate milestone to take stock of its accomplishments and evaluate the road ahead, a point that the Prime Minister made a point to emphasise.

“Soon, the G20 will complete its 25 years of establishment. Such a milestone is a good opportunity to evaluate what objectives the G20 set out with and how far it has been able to achieve them. It would also be a good idea to seek the views of nations outside the G20, especially from the Global South, when it reaches the milestone of 25 years. Such inputs would be very valuable to chart the future course for the next 25 years,” Modi said.

On its part, India has consistently led the initiative to raise and flag issues terrorism to black money, from supply chain resilience to climate-conscious growth even before assuming the G20 Presidency.

“There have also been appreciable developments in global cooperation on these issues after they were raised at G20. Of course, there is always scope for improvement, such as greater involvement of the Global South, and a bigger role for Africa, amongst others. These are the areas that India is working on, during its G20 Presidency,” the prime minister said.

Geopolitics is one of the proximate determinants for transnational corporations’ investment decisions, besides wielding a considerable influence on global trade directions. An influential grouping such as the G20 can play a significantly catalytic role to smoothen out the rough edges and ensure that gains from trade cascade through continents.

“Geopolitics and related factors can have a significant impact on decision-making in international trade. Instances of unilateralism and isolationism driven by such factors can contribute to supply chain disruptions and impact livelihoods, especially in critical sectors. During its G20 presidency, India is playing a significant role in strengthening the multilateral trading system and promoting rules-based global trade,” the prime minister said.

In the final analysis, the role of the G20 and such groupings is to enable a grand possibility frontier by striking an equilibrium of goals of geopolitics, global trade and domestic interests, something India’s presidency has been able to push ahead with significantly.