India on December 1, 2022 took over as the President of the G-20 for next year’s summit that is scheduled to be held in New Delhi. The occasion was marked by a range of public events and announcements including the lighting of one hundred monuments and landmarks across the country. Marking the occasion, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said the occasion bestows India with a great responsibility.
“This is not a development that should be regarded as one more diplomatic happening. On the contrary, it is a crucial responsibility that is being assumed by India at a very challenging time in world politics and at an inflection point in India’s own history. We are going to do G-20 very differently and today’s event itself is a proof of that,” said External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at a University Connect event to mark the occasion. The External Affairs Minister described India’s assumption of G-20 Presidency as an “unparalleled” event.
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In an article published by The Hindu on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described India’s agenda at the G-20 as “inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented”, and added, “During our G-20 Presidency, we shall present India’s experiences, learnings and models as possible templates for others, particularly the developing world. Our G-20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G-20 partners, but also our fellow travellers of the global South, whose voice often goes unheard.”
Mr Jaishankar said the G20 brings together leading economies of the world and includes two-thirds of the world’s population. India has invited Bangladesh, Mauritius, Egypt, Singapore, Nigeria, Netherlands, Oman, Spain, the United Arab Emirates. He said apart from the summit, there will be around 200 events to mark India’s Presidency of the G20.
“This is actually a gathering of extraordinary importance and one that is unparalleled in our history. But this is not the collective weight of the participants that you should take note of. The very process of holding the G20 itself is uniquely impactful. There will be the G-20 summit in September 2023 in New Delhi but in addition there are almost 200 meetings at various other levels to ministers and officials to domain experts, civil society and of course the youth .
Given its significance, we would like G20 to be not a Delhi-centric event but one that is celebrated across the width and breadth of the country,” said Mr Jaishankar. The countrywide spread of the event will help Indian citizens to understand that as a result of the G-20, India will be “more world-ready” and the “world more India-ready”.
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Sources said apart from the main event and preparatory conferences, the G-20 summit will also include “side events” and civil society-related events and discussions to make full use of the platform provided by the worldwide outfit.
Apart from announcements in public venues and vehicles, the occasion was marked by illumination of world-famous Indian monuments like South Delhi’s Qutab Minar, Fort Vellore in Tamil Nadu and the Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad. The Hazarduari palace in Murshidabad and the Ancient Palace in Leh are among the other places that will remained illuminated for a week to mark India’s Presidency of G-20.
