FIVE REASONS WHY INDIA'S G20 PRESIDENCY MATTERS

The first test of G20 solidarity will be at the 4-7 December Sherpa Meeting in the city of Udaipur. It is the first major preparatory meeting being held after the assumption of G20 presidency by India.

- MANISH CHAND

India's much-awaited G20 moment is finally here, with the world's fifth largest economy assuming the presidency of the world's richest and powerful countries on 1 December 2022, triggering a G20 media blitzkrieg and a carnival of patriotism. Heading the world's most influential multilateral forum is an occasion for national rejoicing and is projected as a symbol of India's growing global stature and prestige, capable of straddling the North-South divide. But amid this euphoria, it's important to sift hype from substance and take a reality check on what India can achieve during its yearlong G20 leadership. Here are five reasons why India's G20 presidency is critically important, and can be a watershed moment for the country’s rise as a responsible global player, offering solutions to a host of global crises and challenges.

1. BRIDGE-BUILDER & HEALER

With strong geopolitical polarizations emerging across the North-South and the East-West divide, India’s presidency of G20 can be decisive in bolstering the grouping’s status as the world’s most effective multilateral forum, not only in the economic arena but also in the field of conflict resolution. Although India managed to help forge a tactical compromise on the Ukraine issue at the G20 summit in Bali by finding a mid-way solution that accommodated concerns of Russia as well as the West, the Ukraine war will continue to pose a challenge to the G20 solidarity. Going forward, India will have to do heavy diplomatic weightlifting to keep the warring parties on the same page and to keep G7 countries to the Bali Declaration formulation on Ukraine which criticised Russia but at the same time acknowledged differences on the issue.