The first session of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Thursday commenced on multilateralism, food and energy security and development cooperation.
The discussion will realise India’s theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ for its G20 Presidency, which signals the need for unity of purpose and unity of action. “Towards realising the vision of One Earth, One Family, One Future.
Session I of #G20FMM gets underway. Discussions to focus on contemporary challenges around multilateralism, food & energy security and development cooperation,” tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
Earlier in the day, while addressing the G20 foreign delegates ahead of their meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted that discussions around the Russia-Ukraine war should not derail the rest of the agenda of the summit.
“As foreign ministers, it is but natural that your discussions are affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day,” said PM Modi.
“We all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions should be resolved… We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,” he added.
He emphasized that as the leading economies of the world, the responsibility towards those who are not in this room lies with us.
“As the leading economies, we also have a responsibility towards those who are not in this room. The world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, financial stability, corruption, terrorism and food and energy security,” said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister remarked as he noted that G20 has the capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results in all these areas. He emphasized that resolutions for issues that cannot be addressed together should not come in the way of those that can be resolved.
Underlining that the meeting is taking place in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha, PM Modi urged the excellencies to draw inspiration from India’s civilizational ethos of focusing not on what divides us, but on what unites us all.
“As we meet in the land of Gandhi and Buddha, I pray that you will draw inspiration from India’s civilization ethos to focus on what unites us and not on what divides us,” said PM Modi.
He said that India’s G20 Presidency has tried to give a voice to the Global South.
“After years of progress, we are at risk today of moving back on the Sustainable Development Goals. Many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt, while trying to ensure food and energy security for their people. They are also the ones most affected by global warming caused by richer countries. This is why India’s G20 Presidency tried to give a voice to the Global South. No group can claim global leadership without listening to those most affected by its decisions,” said PM Modi.
Observing that stable economies were suddenly overwhelmed by debt and financial crisis, the Prime Minister stressed the need to show resilience in our societies, economies, healthcare systems and in infrastructure.
“The G20 has a critical role to play in finding the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand and resilience on the other”, the Prime Minister remarked. He suggested that this balance can be achieved more easily by working together. Concluding the address, the Prime Minister expressed confidence in the collective wisdom and ability and hoped that today’s meeting will turn out to be ambitious, inclusive and action-oriented where resolutions are made while rising above differences.