“It was momentous”; G20 Summit Chief Coordinator on adoption of Delhi Declaration

Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the adaptation of the Delhi declaration was momentous and has addressed the requirements and concerns of the global south

New Delhi: The Chief co-ordinator of India’s G20 presidency Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the adaptation of the Delhi declaration was momentous and has addressed the requirements and concerns of the global south.

He said, “We have ensured that the PM’s vision of an outcome-oriented presidency would be held and it has been seen in every aspect of the way we have conducted the Summit. We have achieved the objectives of the Global South. We have addressed the requirements and the concerns of the Global South”.

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“It was momentous because, in a normal multilateral process, you have to go to the end of any Summit to attain a consensus on an outcome document. The fact that we have come up with the consensus document with the support of our G20 partners on the first day of our presidency is a tremendously positive news,” he added.

Shringla also welcomed the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 grouping and said, “We are very happy that PM Modi announced the advent of the African Union as the permanent member of the G20 under our presidency.” On September 9, the Delhi Declaration was adopted. It called on nations to uphold international law, including territorial integrity, international humanitarian law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability.

The declaration envisages a green development pact for a sustainable future, it endorses high-level principles on lifestyle for sustainable development, voluntary principles of hydrogen, the Chennai principles for a sustainable resilient blue economy and the Deccan principles on food security and nutrition among others The biggest takeaway of the declaration was that all 83 paragraphs of the declaration were passed unanimously with a 100 per cent consensus along with China and Russia in agreement. For the first time, the declaration contained no footnote or Chair’s Summary.

The G20 meeting on Saturday also saw the African Union being inducted as the new permanent member of G20 thereby offering developing nations a greater say in global decision-making PM Narendra Modi on Saturday also launched the Global Biofuels Alliance in the presence of US President Joe Biden, President of Brazil Luiz Inacio, President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni. The Global Biofuel Alliance is one of the priorities under India’s G20 Presidency.

Another major takeaway from Day 1 of the summit, was the announcement launch of a mega India-Middle East-Europe shipping and railway connectivity corridor by India, the US, Saudi Arabia and the European Union.