NEW DELHI: The G20 summit, the first hosted by India, came to a close on Sunday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly advocating the expansion of the UN Security Council (UNSC) even as New Delhi’s steerage of the two-day conclave came in for all-round praise for reaching unanimity on the Ukraine issue as well as moving the debate decisively towards addressing emerging financial issues.
As PM Modi passed on the gavel of the presidency to Brazilian President Lula da Silva, there was praise for him from US President Joe Biden, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. While Biden is stated to have said: “You (Modi) are bringing us together, keeping us together, reminding us that we have the capacity to tackle challenges together,” Lavrov called for strengthening G20 cooperation based on “the foundation created by the Indian presidency”. Some leaders felt this was a milestone summit that will shift the focus on “One Future” for the entire mankind. Meanwhile, PM Modi announced a virtual session of the G20 around the end of November to take stock of the suggestions and decisions made at the New Delhi Leaders’ Summit held on September 9 and 10.
“It is my proposal that we hold another session of the G20 virtually in November-end. In that session, we can review the issues that have been agreed upon during this summit. Our teams will share the details of it with all of you. I hope all of you will join this (session). With this, I declare the G20 summit as closed,” he said. Speaking at “One Future”, the third and final session at the summit, the PM pointed out the emergence of many regional groupings over the past several years called for reflection.
He also pointed out G20 was open to reforms and expansion by including the African Union as a G20 member. “Similarly, we also need to expand the mandate of multilateral development banks. Our decisions in this direction should be immediate and effective,” said the PM.
At the concluding session, Modi handed over the gavel and offered best wishes to the Brazilian President for the next presidency. Brazil will officially take over the chair of G20 on December 1. “India passes the gavel to Brazil. We have unwavering faith that they will lead with dedication, vision and will further global unity as well as prosperity,” observed the PM.
Lula, in his acceptance address, also said the UNSC needed new developing countries as permanent and non-permanent members to regain political strength. “We want greater representation for emerging countries at the World Bank and IMF,’’ he said.
“The number of permanent members in the UNSC remains the same. The world has since changed a lot in every aspect. Be it transport, communication, health and education, every sector has been transformed. These new realities should reflect in our new global structure,” said PM Modi.
The UNSC has five permanent members the US, China, France, Britain and Russia.