On the first day of December 2022, India assumed the chairmanship of two global bodies: the G20 and the UN Security Council. While New Delhi’s G20 presidency is guided by the vision of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family), its UN Security Council presidency prioritizes counter-terrorism and reformed multilateralism.
Some of the UNSC’s important tasks include safeguarding international peace in conformity with the United Nations’ principles and purposes, determining the existence of a threat to peace or act of aggression, and recommending what action should be taken. According to the UNSC guidebook, the Council President has extensive powers, including the ability to convene Security Council sessions, approve provisional agendas, and sign meeting records, among other things.
The Council president hosts an informal breakfast to discuss the draught programme on the first working day of the presidency, which is “attended by the permanent representatives of all Council members.” The programme of work (PoW), which is a calendar of priorities that the President nation will work toward during its tenure, is adopted shortly after breakfast.
According to the UN Security Council’s official website, each of its 15 member states assumes the president for one month in the English alphabetical sequence. In August 2021, India will hold the presidency. This month, India’s PoW includes briefings, consultations, and updates on global developments in Syria, Libya, the Middle East, Colombia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other places.
An open debate on the maintenance of international peace and security through a new orientation for reformed multilateralism, as well as a briefing on terrorist threats to international peace and security, which would include discussions on principles and next steps through a global counter-terrorism approach, remain critical to the Council. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend these landmark events in New York on December 14 and 15. Ruchira Kamboj, the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will chair over the Council this month.
The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental summit in which states participate in discussions about various areas of the global economy. It was established in the 1990s, when Southeast Asian economies were experiencing a financial crisis. It had a huge impact in 2008, when it helped to decrease worldwide panic induced by a slowing economy and restore economic growth.
Among the participants are the European Union and several of the world’s leading economies. The G20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. According to a MEA India paper, these countries currently “account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of global trade, and 60% of global population.”
According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the key goals of the G20 include policy discussion and collaboration on global economic and financial challenges. However, over time, the meeting’s objectives have expanded to include global terrorism, health, and sustainable development.
The G20 leadership rotates annually, with the President nation determining the agenda of the annual summit. Non-members such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, United Nations (UN), and World Trade Organization (WTO), among others, attend G20 meetings on a regular basis. The Troika, which includes past, present, and future presidents — this year, Indonesia, India, and Brazil — is in charge of planning.
On November 16, this year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially handed over the G20 chairmanship to India at the Bali summit. The year-long presidency assumed by India comes at a time when the world is grappling with concerns about the economy’s recovery from a pandemic. In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the country’s commitment to resolving the “climate change, terrorism, and pandemic” challenges through international cooperation.
According to a story in The Indian Express, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also stated on Thursday that New Delhi will try to “depoliticize” the worldwide supply of food, fertilisers, and medical products. Jaishankar praised India’s position as the voice of the Global South, adding that the country will “take the lead in pushing for collective action” on climate change, climate justice, and sustainable development, which are frequently sidelined owing to more pressing challenges. UAE, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Egypt, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Spain have also been invited as guests.
Over the course of 2023, India will host more than 200 gatherings in 50 places, involving government and civil society, culminating in a major meeting in New Delhi in September of next year. Thirty heads of state and government from the G20 countries, as well as others invited, are slated to attend the summit.
Written by: Anvesha Tiwari
Edited by: Labdhi Shah