Source- TheQuint
Group of 20 or commonly known as 620 is an intergovernmental forum which comprises countries and one supranational organization. It is the result of the coming together of 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
The basic objective of this forum is to address the global issues of economic development, climate change and sustainable development.
G20 Members
The member states include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and lastly, European Union (EU)
These member states are some of the world’s largest economies. The group is a mix of countries from both the developing and developed worlds. G20 was founded in 1999 in response to the prevailing economic crisis during that time. The leaders or representatives of each member state meet every year to hold discussions and deliberations over pertinent global issues. Sometimes, other countries and international organizations are also invited to attend these meetings every year.
India in G20 Bali Summit 2022
Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi along with other G-20 Leaders visited and planted Mangroves at the ‘Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai’ Mangrove forests to commemorate the opening of the G-20 Summit in Bali.
Mangroves play an important role in global conservation efforts, signifying the vision of the G20 forum in also protecting biodiversity and planet earth. India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), a joint initiative of Indonesia and UAE under the Indonesian G-20 Presidency.
Key Takeaways
1. Condemning Russian Aggression- The meetings that were supposed to be conducted earlier this year, unfortunately, ended without any conclusive and joint declarations because of Russian opposition to references to the war in Ukraine.
This week, leaders were resolute and adopted a declaration deploring Russia's aggression in Ukraine "in the strongest terms" and demanding its unconditional withdrawal. They also recognised that while most members condemned the war in Ukraine there were other countries with varying views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions imposed by Russia.
2. China-US ties improving - A bilateral meeting was held before the summit began between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This was the first time the two leaders had met since Joe Biden took the oath as the president. The two leaders agreed to communicate openly and avoid confrontation while discussing issues of Taiwan, trade restrictions and technology transfers. The most concrete outcome is that now the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China in 2023.
3. Focus on Global Economy- It was agreed by the G20 economies that they would pace the interest rate rises carefully to avoid spillovers. They also said that further fiscal stimulus measures should be temporary and targeted in light of the Ukraine war as well as the Covid-19 pandemic which has fuelled unprecedented inflation. Concern about middle-income countries and their declining economy was also voiced by the member states at the summit.
4. Food Security- G20 leaders decided to take coordinated action to cope with the challenges of food security and also appreciated the efforts of the Black Sea grains initiative. However, civil society criticized them for not taking concrete measures on the issue of hunger.
5. Climate Change- The various leaders of the G20 agreed to push their limits and control the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees celsius reiterating their allegiance to the Paris Agreement on climate change which had outlined a temperature goal. A few countries such as the United States of America, Japan and partners also have stated they will mobilize an amount of up to $20 billion of public and private finance as a way of assisting Indonesia shut coal power plants and bring forward the sector's peak emissions date by seven years to 2030.
Conclusion
In the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will make the G20 a catalyst for global change and its presidency of the group in 2023 will be inclusive and action-oriented. As the G20 presidency was handed over to India by Indonesia, he further said the country will work towards collective action on global challenges such as food and energy security.
Written by Chitra Gangwani
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