'India world-ready, world India-ready'

presidency world-ready The country's G20 has made "India and the world Indiaready" even as New Delhi ensured that the concerns of the Global South constituted the core agenda of deliberations within the grouping, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing a media briefing along with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, chief G20 coordinator Harsh Shringla and foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, shortly after the Indian side clinched a consensus leaders' declaration.

"The G20 has contributed to making India world-ready and the world India-ready," he said.

"No one left behind" has now become a goal for foreign policy as much as domestic policies, he pointed out.

The leaders' declaration focuses on promoting strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, seeks to accelerate progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), envisages a green development pact for a sustainable future, and endorses high-level principles on a lifestyle for sustainable development, he added.

The declaration also includes voluntary principles on green hydrogen, the Chennai principles for a sustainable resilient blue economy and the Deccan principles for food security and nutrition.

While noting that the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues, the leaders recognised that they can significant consequences for the global economy. "In particular, they dwelt on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the impact it has had, especially on developing and least developing nations still recovering from the pandemic and economic disruptions," Jaishankar said.

In keeping with India's focus on the Global South, food, fuel and fertilisers were issues of special concern. The G20 leaders also focused on countering terror and money laundering, and condemned all forms of terrorism while recognising it as one of the "most serious threats to international peace".