New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Monday called for a need to strengthen the international architecture and governance systems for the protection of global order, global laws and global values. In his opening remarks at the G20 Development Ministers' meeting, Jaishankar said, "It is essential that we constantly strengthen the international architecture and governance systems for the protection of global order, global laws and global values.
"In doing so we would invariably find ourselves on the path where diplomacy, dialogue and cooperation take precedence over competition, conflict and divisions. Choosing peace, cooperation and multilateralism is essential for building our collective future".
The G20 Development Ministers' meeting began on Sunday and will continue till June 13 in Varanasi. The meeting is held as part of India's G20 Presidency and is chaired by EAM Jaishankar. A total of 200 delegates are attending the meeting. Jaishankar said, "With such an ambitious task on our hands, our actions must also be equally bold and purposeful. G20 needs to play a key role in assuring that this higher purpose remains well within our grasp".
"Our efforts will strengthen the hands of our leaders when they come together at these historic summits, that I have spoken about, which are still ahead of us. The action plan that we adopt here today in Varanasi provides such a roadmap for the G20 to galvanise the critical momentum and ambition for these efforts", added the External Affairs Minister.
He noted that the world today faces unprecedented and multiple crises. From the pandemics to disruptions in supply chains, from the impact of conflict to climate events, our era is becoming more volatile and uncertain by the day. Added to this is inflation, rising interest rates and shrinking fiscal space for many nations. As always, in such times, the weak and the vulnerable bear the brunt.
He highlighted that climate change also continues unabated, with a disproportionate impact on least developed countries and small island developing states. "Prospects for a global economic recovery remains dim amidst supply chain disruptions, prolonged debt crisis and pressures on energy, food and fertiliser security. The Development Ministers meet is an opportunity for us as the G20 to demonstrate solidarity on these development issues", he added.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda is a landmark not only in its universality, in that it applies to all countries, but also in its integrity, in that it can only be successful as a comprehensive agenda. Unfortunately, since its adoption in 2015, not only have we seen the political momentum wither, but we have also witnessed fragmentation in international priorities wherein some goals are deemed more important than others. Such cherry-picking is not in our collective interest, said Jaishankar.
The External Affairs Minister reiterated that India has put forward an ambitious seven-year action plan for accelerating progress on the SDGs, which presents a coordinated, integrated and inclusive roadmap for G20 actions. He pointed out that the action plan not only galvanises a strong G20 commitment to the development agenda, but also puts forward transformative actions on the three core agendas which include bold, decisive actions on fostering data for development and digital public infrastructure, which are needed around the world to jumpstart innovations at the grassroots; investing in women-led development not only helps to accelerate progress across all the SDGs, but also delivers results on the ground for all sections of society and securing globally just transitions will help ensure the future survival of the planet while meeting the aspirations of its diverse people.
