India: G20 not forum to resolve security issues

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, February 25

The first G20 Ministerial under India’s presidency could not release a joint communique as Russia and China opposed any reference to the war in Ukraine. Instead a chair summary and outcome document written by India was released, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after the end of the two-day meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday.

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The outcome document dealt with the thorny issue of Ukraine conflict, stating G20 was not the forum to resolve security issues, but “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine”. The document said the members could not agree over enrolling G20 nations for G7 sanctions because “there were different assessments of the situation and sanctions”.

It also spoke out strongly against the use or threat of nuclear weapons and incorporated PM Narendra Modi’s observation that “today is not the era of war”. Thetwo paras pertaining to Ukraine were taken from the G20 Bali leaders’ declaration of November last year and were agreed to by all member countries, except Russia and China.

The document written by India said though G20 was not the forum to resolve security issues, these could have significant consequences for the global economy. Most members condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it was causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy. “It is essential to uphold the international law and the multilateral system. A peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war,” the document read.

On its main remit, the outcome document said the global economic outlook had modestly improved. However, risks to the outlook could worsen debt vulnerabilities in many emerging market and developing economies.

It also noted the total global ambition of $100 billion of voluntary contributions for countries most in need of IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST).