The latest, thirteenth G-20 Summit was held in Buenos Aires in Argentina on November 30 – December 1 2018. This was the first G-20 Summit held in South America in which over 45 meetings were held between the world leaders and various government counterparts in two days.
What is G-20?
Group of Twenty or G-20 as it is commonly known, is an international forum that brings together the world’s 20 leading industrialized and emerging economies. The total GDP of the G 20 countries accounts for 85 per cent of world GDP and two-thirds of its population. Membership of the G20 consists of 19 individual countries which include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America plus the European Union (EU). G-20 was founded in 1999 with the aim to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability,[3] the G20 has expanded its agenda since 2008 and heads of government or heads of state, as well as finance ministers and foreign ministers, have periodically conferred at summits ever since.
India’s increasing Role in G-20
India has emerged as an important member of G20—able to contribute and influence the reshaping of the world economic and financial order. India has been doing well on the world stage since Prime Minister Modi came into power in 2014. The subsequent G-20 Summits have marked continuous growth in India’s participation.
India has been on reform spree under the Modi Government. The introduction of GST and other such measures have been welcomed by the international community as right steps towards increasing financial stability, ease of doing business and a better standing in the world economy. Several bilateral interactions with world leaders during the Summit is seen as a step forward in improving international relations with aim to further boost economic relations of India with other countries.
India’s economic rise and its ability to manage diverse and at times even contradictory global relationships has given New Delhi newfound leverage in its diplomatic engagements through G 20. One of the prime examples was Modi pulling off two seemingly contradictory trilateral during the Summit. Modi met with United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to underscore India’s firm commitment to make the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth, prosperity, and security.Hours after,Modi joined Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for another trilateral, the second among the three countries after a gap of 12 years. The underlying rationale for this trilateral was quite different, as the three nations discussed enhancing mutual cooperation in international forums.
Other important developments which demonstrate India’s growing influence and participation in G-20 forum are its holding the 2022 Summit in India. Also, India will chair the G-20 in 2019.
The G20 process is about balancing competing interests and setting global rules of economic engagement. Born in the crucible of the 2008 global economic crisis, the G20’s agenda has moved beyond crisis management to enhanced global macroeconomic coordination to create a new equilibrium and resilience in global economy. In the scrambled alphabet of global geopolitics, the G20 finally seems to be getting the script right.
Across the summits, India, Asia’s third largest economy, has emerged as a fine balancer, delicately blending its national interests with the imperatives of global economic integration. With upbeat projections about India’s economic growth in the years come, expect India to contribute substantially to global economic growth and be a more proactive player in shaping the G20 process. Against the backdrop of an uneven global economic growth, marked by stark asymmetries across geographies it makes sense for the world to be on the side of the India story and global economic resurgence.