PM Modi announces adoption of New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration; significant victory for India’s G20 presidency

“I announce that this declaration is adopted (Banged the gavel thrice),” he said.

Related: LoP Mallikarjun Kharge finds himself left out of G20 dinner

PM Modi chairing the summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing the G20 summit.

“On this occasion, I convey my heartfelt thanks to ministers, sherpas and all officials who worked hard to make this possible and they are worthy of being praised,” Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was identified as the leader representing ‘Bharat’ at the G20 Summit in Delhi on Saturday as he made his opening remarks at the beginning of the two-day meeting.

The government has used ‘Bharat’, a name used in the Constitution for the country along with India, in several official G20 documents. Official sources have said it is a conscious decision.

‘Path breaking’

Hailing the breakthrough, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant posted on X, “Historical & Path breaking #G20 Declaration with 100% consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues. The new geopolitical paras are a powerful call for Planet, People, Peace and Prosperity in today’s world. Demonstrates PM @narendramodi leadership in today’s world.”

Historical & Path breaking #G20 Declaration with 100% consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues. The new geopolitical paras are a powerful call for Planet, People, Peace and Prosperity in todays world . Demonstrates PM @narendramodi leadership in today’s world.

— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) September 9, 2023

It is understood that the G20 countries agreed on the new text to describe the Ukraine conflict that was circulated by India this morning.

There was no consensus on the text to describe the Ukraine issue at the G20 Sherpa meeting that took place in the Nuh district of Haryana from 3 to 6  September.

The G20 operates under the principle of consensus.

Both Russia and China had agreed to the two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict in the Bali declaration, but they backtracked from it this year, creating difficulties for India.

Almost all key meetings held under India’s G20 presidency including those of the finance and foreign ministers of member-countries, could not come out with consensus documents given opposition from Russia and China to any text referring to the Ukraine conflict.

Also Read: ‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’ in G20 dinner invite by President Murmu

‘Confide in each other’

Asserting that the Ukraine war has deepened the trust deficit globally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India appeals to the entire world to turn it into confidence in each other.

In his opening remarks at the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, Modi said the 21st century is a time to give new direction to the world.

“This is a time when age-old challenges are calling for new solutions from us. And therefore, with a human-centric approach, we have to move forward to fulfil our responsibilities,” Modi said.

G20 Summit

The G20 Leaders’ Summit is being attended by US President Joe Biden, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, among others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not attending the summit.

Besides the G20 member-nations, India has invited leaders of Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Singapore, Oman, Nigeria and the Netherlands as guests to the summit.

After assuming the presidency of the bloc on 1 December, India has held around 200 meetings related to the G20 across the country on a range of its priority areas.

The G20 member-countries represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).

(With PTI inputs)