UN chief praises India’s Presidency of G20

Guterres made the remarks at a press conference here in response to a question by PTI on the just concluded G20 Summit and the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration adopted by consensus under the Indian presidency

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday praised India’s Presidency of the G20 and underlined that New Delhi did its best to have the voice of the Global South represented and put the development agenda at the centre of discussion during its year-long leadership of the grouping.

Guterres made the remarks at a press conference here in response to a question by PTI on the just concluded G20 Summit and the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration adopted by consensus under the Indian presidency.

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“I’d like to say and I believe I should pay tribute to the Indian presidency. The Indian presidency did its best in order to have the South’s voice represented and did its best to put the development agenda in the center of the discussions of the G20,” he said.

“Of course, the conclusions are what they are. They depend on what countries are ready to accept. But I think that effort needs to be underlined,” he said.

Guterres, who travelled to Delhi to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9 and 10 in the Indian capital, said that the “simple fact that there being a consensus” on adopting the declaration means that there was a compromise and “compromise is something that is essential in present days.”

Earlier, in his remarks at the press conference ahead of the UN General Assembly session that begins here next week, Guterres said that his appeal to world leaders coming to the UN headquarters for the high-level session will be clear that this is not a time for posturing or positioning and this is not a time for indifference or indecision.

“This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions. It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise. If we want a future of peace and prosperity based on equity and solidarity, leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in designing our common future for our common good. Next week here in New York is the place to start,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted leaders of the world’s biggest economies, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov among others, for the G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.

As G20 President, India pulled off a big diplomatic win with the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration at the summit, overcoming major differences on the Russia-Ukraine war.