G20 Summit in Bengaluru Concludes
World leaders gather in Bengaluru for the annual G20 Finance Ministers Summit. Photo: India's Press Information Bureau/Reuters
India recently hosted the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors meeting in the city of Bengaluru. This is the first major G20 meeting since India assumed the presidency of the G20 in December 2022. The meeting covered current major issues in the world economy, such as debt restructuring, crypto regulation, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental organization comprising 19 of the world’s largest economies and the European Union. Its stated purpose is to serve as a forum for discussing pressing economic and other global issues, and the meetings have led to major international agreements in the past.
India used its role as President to set the agenda of the meeting to issues it cares deeply about. For example, the Indian government garnered support for the regulation of cryptocurrencies, a form of currency it has long been skeptical about. Specifically, powerful voices such as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva have vocalized their support for India’s push for regulation, allowing it to better coordinate crypto policy with fellow G20 members and potentially enforce international crypto regulation.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inaugural speech, he emphasized food and energy security and debt restructuring as major issues that the G20 ought to tackle during their meetings. Some of India’s neighbors (Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) are currently in danger of defaulting and are in urgent need of restructuring, adding to India’s concerns. Prior to the G20, India had already been drafting debt restructuring proposals for six countries in danger of defaulting. During the meeting, India gained input from the countries who are in danger of defaulting, which helped to fine tune the proposals. India’s work has been met with support from fellow G20 members, strengthening its credibility on the international scale.
However, the summit struggled to come to a definitive statement regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. While the majority of the countries at the summit strongly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, China and Russia refused to sign their statement. India concluded by issuing a summary about the discussions, stating that "Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine”, but that “there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declares her support for Ukraine at the G20 Summit. Photo: AP News/Aijaz Rahi
India has long maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, and their summary reflected that. India has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during any international forum, and Modi refrained from addressing the war during his inaugural speech of the G20 summit.
India is set to retain its presidency up to December 2023. Whether it will successfully advance its international standing and advance international cooperation in areas it prioritizes remains to be seen, but this meeting has served as a first step in that process.