New Delhi: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Tuesday said that India has received G20 responsibility at a time when the world is infested with problems like recession, climate change and geo-political crisis and that the country fervently advocated that ‘regional integration’ was essential for South Asia’s development.
He was speaking at the South Asia Conference on ‘Think20@G20, towards a Resilient South Asia’, organised by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. In his inaugural address, the G20 Sherpa said, "The country has received G20 responsibility at a time when the world is infested with problems like recession, climate change, the geo-political crisis of food and worsened by the impact of the Covid pandemic".
"However, India endeavours to become the ‘Voice of the Global South’ and work towards accelerating the pace of the global economy. India will continue to push for inclusive resilience, growth and stability throughout the region during its tenure as G20 Chair, he added. Furthermore, he reiterated that India fervently advocated that ‘regional integration’ was essential for South Asia’s development.
The G20 Sherpa also pushed for the financial inclusion of women through better nutrition, education and opportunities to elevate them into positions of leadership. "The South-Asian region remains the least integrated region in the world, with little intra-regional trade, he said. The South Asian countries must have a regional strategic approach towards creating a common developmental model to strengthen the supply structure, diminish border impediments and boost trade", he observed.
Later, Director General, MP-IDSA, Ambassador Sujan R Chinoy reflected upon India’s role and vision as G20 Chair. As a country accounting for about 70 per cent of the region’s area, population, GDP, and defence expenditure, India has a special role to play in the region’s growth and development. This impulse can be stronger if we share the vision of common prosperity, said Amb Chinoy.
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Highlighting poverty, climate change, natural disasters and food and energy security as challenges before South Asia, Ambassador Chinoy observed that cooperation on these issues would ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said that the South Asian countries should look at India’s G20 Presidency as their shared presidency and contribute to the discussions on how to enrich the T20/G20 agenda.
Reinforcing India’s advocacy for reformed multilateralism, including that of the UN, Amb Chinoy said that the G20 has a genuine opportunity to work alongside the existing system and provide an opportunity for all major nations and economies to step away from the gridlock of geopolitical differences. Furthermore, citing the examples of the Americas, South East Asia and Europe, Amitabh Kant said that these regions are developed because of enhanced intra-regional trade, investment and tourism. Similarly, South Asia needs to push for greater trade, investments and tourism within the region through collaborative efforts, he said.
This year the South Asia Conference has been infused with the theme of the G20 processes. A large number of experts and speakers from South Asian Nations, including Myanmar, are participating in the two-day conference, which also includes a Special Address by T7 (of G7) Chair, Tetsushi Sonobe and a special Ambassadors’ session. Senior officials of the G20 Secretariat, including Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla, also addressed the gathering.
