G20: Lessons from Bali summit and what it implies for India’s presidency

Source: The post is based on the article “G20: Lessons from Bali summit and what it implies for India’s presidency” published in the Business Standard on 21st November 2022.

Syllabus: GS – 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Relevance: About G20’s joint communique and its lessons for India.

News: The recent G20 Summit in Bali concluded by the release of a joint communique.

Why signing a joint communique is an achievement?

Getting 20 leaders to sign up for one document in today’s sharply divided world is in itself remarkable. This is because any final document would have to deal with the Ukraine war.

However, a joint communique was reached due to a) The absence of the Russian President from G20 Summit, b) Indonesia focused primarily on the impact of the invasion on global food supplies.

What is the importance of G20 in international agreements?

The G-20 is one of the few effective organisations functioning at its best level. For instance, the G20 arrived at a joint communique despite the issues such as, a) The effects of the war in Ukraine on global supply chains and inflation and b) Trade tensions between the US and China have congealed into open disagreement along multiple frontiers and momentum towards “decoupling”.

The above mentioned issues reduced the relevance of United Nations frameworks for agreement and dispute resolution from the Conference of the Parties on climate change to the World Trade Organization.

What are the lessons for India as a G20 President?

a) Like Indonesia, India too needs to lay the groundwork for dealing with the agenda well in advance, b) The G20 agenda must not be driven by the West or by Moscow and Beijing. Instead, it should be driven by middle powers such as Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, etc, c) India must find like-minded allies like the Indonesians clearly relied on the Indians, d) India should underline the importance of the G-20.