The G20 Summit in New Delhi came to a conclusion on Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed the ceremonial gavel to Brazil, which will replace India as the group’s president. At the G20 Summit’s closing ceremony, PM Modi congratulated Lula da Silva, a friend of his, and turned the gavel of the presidency on to him.
A day after agreement was achieved on the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, which included the much-discussed passages on the Ukraine war, India’s G20 presidency came to an end. Several nations commended India for mediating a compromise on the divisive subject amongst the member nations in a flurry of frenetic discussions. Amitabh Kant, the G20 Sherpa for India, said that it took more than 200 hours of nonstop discussions, 300 bilateral sessions, and 15 drafts to get accord.
In his opening comments, Prime Minister Modi said that India is in charge of the G20 presidency till November of this year. “All of you made several recommendations and submitted proposals throughout the course of these two days. It is our responsibility to analyze the proposals we have received once again to see how they might advance more quickly, he added.
At the end of November, the Prime Minister suggested holding a virtual G20 session to evaluate the decisions made at this Summit. “I’m hoping everyone will join the virtual session…I hereby pronounce the G20 Summit to be over,” he said.
After the African Union joined the group on Saturday, Brazil, which now chairs the Group of 20 countries, will become the G21. Many nations in the area have welcomed this entry into the club that currently accounts for 85% of global GDP.
The Brazilian President, who assumed leadership of the group, said that “geopolitical issues” shouldn’t scuttle G20 negotiations. He remarked, “We cannot let geopolitical issues sequester the G20 agenda of discussions,” in an apparent allusion to diplomatic bickering over the Ukraine crisis. The world, according to Lula, is more interested in peace and collaboration than a split G20.
