The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    India outlines focus areas for upcoming G-20 Summit

    Synopsis

    Held in the backdrop of US poll results, the summit’s primary focus will be on countering the pandemic and pushing economic recoveries, diplomatic sources told ET. G20 nations have till now contributed more than $21 billion to combat the pandemic including production of vaccines.

    India
    New Delhi laid out key areas of focus for upcoming G-20 summit
    New Delhi: A joint strategy to mitigate the covid-19 crisis through slew of measures, including World Health Organization reforms, besides a comprehensive counter-terror strategy and controlling money laundering globally will be India's focus at the upcoming G-20 summit,

    The summit will be conducted virtually on November 21 and 22 under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.

    Held in the backdrop of US poll results, the summit’s primary focus will be on countering the pandemic and pushing economic recoveries, diplomatic sources told ET. G20 nations have till now contributed more than $21 billion to combat the pandemic including production of vaccines.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will lead India at the summit, will focus on mitigating impacts of the pandemic through measures and reforms. At the BRICS summit, earlier this week, the PM had called for WHO reforms. It may be recalled that WHO has been criticised for how it dealt with the novel coronavirus as it spread from China to Europe, USA and other countries including India.

    From the start of the outbreak, the WHO has been at the centre of many controversies. It has been accused of ‘dereliction of duties’; supporting Beijing in its initial cover up about the outbreak; delaying the declaration of the epidemic as a public health emergency and not working out a timely coordinated global response to the pandemic.

    Saudi Arabia's ambassador to India Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati said the virtual summit will largely focus on addressing the Covid-19 implications, future health care plans and steps for reviving the global economy. Riyadh values the knowledge and experience that India has brought to the G20 as well as its remarkable efforts in extending medical supplies to several countries across the globe to deal with the pandemic, according to Sati.

    Discussions at the two-day summit are expected to be dominated by the implications of the pandemic and steps for reviving the global economy. The Paris-based OECD projects global economic output will contract by 4.5% this year. Last week, G20 finance ministers declared a “common framework” for an extended debt restructuring plan for virus-ravaged countries.

    In a letter to G20 leaders released on Tuesday, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called for “bolder measures” and emphasised that “further debt relief will be required”.

    G20 nations are “soon” moving towards unlocking additional funds from the International Monetary Fund for developing nations, according to Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan

    Modi could also focus on the need for strengthening World Trade Organization (WTO) based on Delhi’s keenness to push multilateralism and a rule-based trading system, ET has learnt. India believes that the WTO being a democratic institution as well as a participatory forum should be strengthened.

    G20 is considering a comprehensive anti-terrorism strategy that addresses the root cause of terrorism and choke terror funding, ET has learnt. Modi will focus on holding states responsible for promoting terror and giving safe havens to terrorists.

    The G20 comprises the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies and accounts for 85% of the global GDP and two-third of its population.

    The summit of the powerful grouping is taking place amid the worst global downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Following a virtual summit in March, the G20 had announced to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to offset the impact of the pandemic. The Saudi presidency will build on the success of the G20 leaders’ summit in March and on the outcomes of over 100 virtual working groups and ministerial meetings


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in