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G20 Summit: India’s Global Assertion

A galaxy of global top leaders are expected to ratify important strategic discussions at the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

Rajneesh De, Consulting Editor, APAC News Network

India will be hosting the 2-day G20 Summit in New Delhi over this weekend (September 9-10) for which leaders from some of the world's top economies will gather in the city on Friday. After all, the G20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union, contributing about 85% of the global GDP and two-thirds of the world's population. The 19 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

The capital city is all decked up to welcome the delegates, especially at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan which will be the main venue of this gala event. India has created the slogan "One Earth, One Family, One Future" for this G20 Summit. This slogan perfectly captures India’s underlying philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family), which has for the last few months guided India's G20 leadership.

The G20 presidency India assumed on December 1, 2022 has provided the country the appropriate platform to reinforce itself as the harbinger of strategic autonomy in an increasingly geopolitically polarized world. The G20 leadership offered the country the opportunity to showcase the “India story” to the world countering multiple contingencies including global warming, food and energy shortage, terrorism, geopolitical conflict, and bridging the digital divide. This is finally sort of culminating in the G20 Summit this weekend.

The G20 Summit Roll Call: Who’s Coming, Who’s Not

India might have performed laudably during its G20 Presidency throughout the year, but the successes of such diplomatic summits are often measured by the world leaders who are participating and who are not. Often the presence or absence of these leaders leads to strategic diplomatic initiatives either undertaken or shelved.

This weekend too while quite a few top leaders will grace the occasion, a few key absentees has led to speculations about the ultimate efficacy of the Summit. First on the positive side, the Delhi G20 summit will be attended by US President Joe Biden, Britain premier Rishi Sunak, Canada premier Justin Trudeau, Japan premier Fumio Kishida Italy premier Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, South Africa's Presidnet Cyril Ramaphosa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

Not only these leaders control the majority of the global diplomatic permutations and combinations today, they are also vital to India's strategic geopolitical positioning in the world order. No wonder therefore, that on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, many of these leaders have planned one on strategic discussions with the Indian PM Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders.

However, the two key absences of Chinese supremo Xin Ping and the Russian President Vladimir Putin has created more air waves and newsprints at the possible future repercussions globally.Though Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be attending, many observers feel that the possibility of a top level Sino US discussion has gone and this could even subsequently impact India's position vis-a-vis China and US in this sensitive geography.

Putin's absence (probably to dodge an International Criminal Court warrant) as well as the absence of Ukraine premier Zelensky implies there will be no scope for some sort of reconciliatory meeting between Russia and Ukraine for the first time since the Russian aggression into Ukraine territory. The Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is also likely to skip the G20 Summit.

India is putting up a brave face notwithstanding the absence of Putin and Xinping. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar rebutted, "I think, at different points of time in G20 there have been some Presidents or PMs who, for whatever reason, have chosen not to come themselves. But that country and its position is reflected by whoever is the representative on that occasion...I think everybody is coming with a great deal of seriousness...".

The US also concurs, especially on the Chinese front. “What I think the Chair, India, will encourage them to do what we, the United States and every other member, virtually every other member of the G20 will do, is encourage them to come in, in a constructive way and really focus on problem-solving and delivering for the developing countries," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reiterated.

G20 Deliberations and Declaration: India on Top

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend as an observer, along with the heads of the IMF and the World Bank also in attendance. Perhaps this best signifies how today India is expected to give direction to the world to counter terrorism, geo-political conflicts, geo-economical disparities and lead towards creating and nurturing a post-pandemic resilient society. As the global advocate for peace, security and prosperity, India is expected to steer and prepare the world for the future by formulating solutions and initiating dialogues for both ge-political and geo-economical issues.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, PM Modi had already reiterated, “India's G20 Presidency also sowed seeds of confidence in countries of the so-called third world. Africa is a top priority for us in G20; no future plan of earth can succeed without all voices being heard."

India has been leading from the front on the issue of the African Union's membership of the G20. In June, PM Modi wrote to the G20 leaders pitching for according to the African Union the full membership of the grouping at its New Delhi summit. A final decision on the proposal would be taken over the weekend. The African Union is an influential organization comprising 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.

At the end of the summit, a declaration will be adopted stating all the leaders’ commitments towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. Under India's year-long presidency, the G20 groups have centred discussions around providing more loans to developing nations from multilateral institutions, reforming international debt architecture, regulations on cryptocurrency and the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on food and energy security.

The G20 ministerial decisions taken across all domains throughout the year are likely to prove to be pivotal for the world's future. “We will continue with constructive contributions well past our G20 Presidency. Inflation is a key issue faced by the world, our G20 Presidency led to the recognition that anti-inflation policies in one country do not harm others," PM Modi further informed.

The thorn on the side has been the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So far this year, the G20 bloc has failed to issue any joint statements as it is deeply divided over language referring to the war in Ukraine. While Russia and China are against blaming Moscow for the war in Ukraine, Western countries including the United States, France and Canada have sought a strong condemnation as a necessary condition for a joint statement. The situation looks unlikely to be resolved this weekend too and this will be an uncomfortable legacy India will hand over to Brazil as it assumes the next G20 presidency.

G20 Summit Impact: Delhi Stalled over Weekend

While the G20 Summit organization in Delhi would definitely add a feather to India's cap globally, it would definitely create disturbances with normal life in the national capital over this weekend. The Delhi government has issued a gazette notification on September 5 detailing traffic restrictions in the national capital ahead of the weekend.

According to the notification, vehicles including goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses, and local city buses, will not be allowed to operate on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road, and inside Pragati Maidan Tunnel from midnight on September 7 until 11:59 PM on September 10. However, goods vehicles transporting essential commodities such as milk, vegetables, fruits, medical supplies, and others with valid 'No Entry Permissions' will be permitted to enter Delhi. Whatever justifications might be outlined, there is little doubt that this will seriously affect citizen movements in the capital for 3-4 days.

In addition, the entire area of New Delhi District will be designated as "Controlled Zone-I" from 5 AM on September 8 until 11:59 PM on September 10. The area inside Ring Road (Mahatma Gandhi Marg) will be considered a "Regulated Zone" during the same period. This means that only authorized residents, emergency vehicles, and vehicles traveling to the Airport, Old Delhi, and New Delhi Railway Stations, as well as other authorized vehicles, will be allowed to use the road network in the New Delhi District during these hours.

During the summit on September 9 and 10, establishments in the New Delhi area, including Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, will remain closed for the public. Dhaula Kuan, Khan Market, Janpath, and Bhikaji Cama Place have been designated as "sensitive areas," but no markets will be shut; movement will be regulated instead. Moreover, Cloud kitchens and delivery services will notbe allowed in the New Delhi area during the summit. However, essential services like grocery stores, ATMs, and medical stores will remain open in the regulated zone.

No TSR (three-wheeled shared taxi) and taxi services will be permitted to enter or operate within the New Delhi District from 5 AM on September 9 until 11:59 PM on September 10. However, all types of commercial vehicles, including buses already present in Delhi, will be permitted to travel on Ring Road and the road network beyond Ring Road towards the borders of Delhi.

Delhi Police has also outlined a series of restrictions on online delivery services in Delhi during the upcoming Summit. These restrictions will be in effect from September 8 to 10, with exceptions made for essential services, such as postal and medical deliveries. During the summit, the delivery of essential medical items, including lab reports and sample collections, will be permitted throughout the city and ambulance services as well will remain operational.

While no commercial activities will be allowed in New Delhi district during the G20 Summit, the restrictions will not affect the regular operation of metro services in the city, except for the Supreme Court metro station, which will be temporarily closed from September 8 to 10.

Delhi Metro is incidentally selling ‘Tourists Smart Cards’ to visitors at 36 stations from 4-13 September. Anticipating the footfall of passengers, the card is available in two categories. Either with one-day validity or three-day validity cards with both offering “unlimited rides” in the metro network.

The one-day validity Tourist Smart Card costs ₹200, whereas, the three-day validity card comes for ₹500. This amount also includes a refundable security deposit of ₹50. The 36 stations where these cards are being sold through dedicated counters include Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, New Delhi, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg and Supreme Court metro stations among others.