‘Multilateralism’ is in crisis: PM Modi at G20 FM meet

India's G20 Presidency has tried to give a voice to the “Global South”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his virtual address at the ‘Foreign Minister of G20’ today. He said “multilateralism” is in crisis in the world, and that global governance has failed on both fronts i.e. preventing future wars and fostering international cooperation.

The PM said the consequences of this failure are being faced mostly by all the developing countries, and the world is at risk of rescinding sustainable development after years of progress. The PM said many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt while trying to ensure food and energy security. He said it's developing countries that are most affected by global warming caused by rich countries.

The PM said today’s meeting was taking place at a time of "deep global divisions", and that discussions are affected by the geo-political tensions of the day. “We all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions should be resolved.”.

“The world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, transnational crime, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security,” the PM said, adding that G20 has the capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results.

Throwing light on the thousands of lives lost in natural disasters and the disastrous pandemic that the world faced, the PM noted how global supply chains have broken down during times of stress and turmoil. “The G20 has a critical role to play in finding the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand and resilience on the other." He suggested this balance can be achieved more easily by working together.

Meanwhile, India has also said it will reaffirm unified action to ensure zero tolerance against corruption and deepen G20 commitments towards countering corruption globally at the First Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting (ACWG) of G-20, being held in Gurugram, Haryana from 1st to 3rd March 2023.

Union minister Jitendra Singh earlier this week said amid a global gloomy economic outlook, India has emerged as a bright spot, as described by the IMF and other world agencies, and therefore, India will play its rightful role to bridge the North-South divide in pressing issues.

Talking about priorities for India during its G20 chairpersonship, the minister said India will support G20 countries in prioritising recovery and return of stolen assets in its broad strategy against corruption. "Enhancing the effectiveness of asset-tracing and identification mechanisms, developing mechanisms for rapid restrain of illicit assets, and promoting effective use of open-source information and asset recovery networks will be key focal areas," he said.

G20's second Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting will be held in Gandhinagar from March 27-29. India will hold the Presidency of G20 for one year, till November 30, 2023. The forum will bring together the G20 member countries, guest countries and international organisations invited by India. Through the Sherpa Track, 13 working groups and two initiatives will meet under India’s presidency to discuss priorities and provide recommendations.