Modi’s initiative for virtual G-20 summit gains traction
Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 18
With Saudi Arabia coming on board, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to hold a G-20 summit via teleconferencing to strategise for a global economic downturn appears to be gaining traction.
Saudi Arabia on board for teleconferencing
Saudi Arabia has called for a ‘virtual’ summit of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies next week to address the coronavirus pandemic, a statement said on Wednesday
The Saudi G20 presidency is communicating with G20 countries to convene a virtual G20 leaders’ summit to advance a coordinated response to Covid pandemic and its human and economic implications, the statement said AFP
Advertisement
Australian PM Scott Morrison has already acknowledged that, “Modi is keen to organise a link-up between all G20 leaders. I think that’s a commendable initiative, Australia obviously supports that, communicated that.”
At the SAARC teleconferencing, Modi initiated the discussions and then controlled the confabulation. This may not be the case in case of a special G-20 summit, say sources.
Currently, the big boys in G-20 are more focussed on the summit of their exclusive G-7 group that will meet via teleconferencing a week from now.
But with economics now occupying centre stage with the tanking of stock markets, broken supply chains and an expected steep decline in the worldwide economic growth, India and some other countries that are members of G-20 but not of G-7 feel the situation is akin to the 2008-09 economic crash.
The G-20 acquired a higher profile after it successfully midwifed a coordinated response from all major economies and discouraged predatory behaviour among nations.
Despite the West’s preoccupation with the G-7 meeting, it is being pointed out that the next G-20 summit is scheduled in November which makes it imperative to hold a special summit in the coming weeks or months to stave off a period of poor economic growth worldwide.
Rating agency Moody’s has already shaved off 0.3 per cent from its earlier growth forecast for G20 economies to 2.1 per cent.
G-20 too has started occupying itself with the threat to the world economy posed by the coronavirus epidemic.
At a meeting of its Finance Ministers in Riyadh last month, sources pointed out that G-20 was prescient to take up the issue of an economic decline. It also resolved to widen the ambit of consultations to include the IMF, World Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the World Health Organisation.
