G20 Bali, 2022 Photograph:( Reuters )
The G20 leaders’ annual meeting, which began in 2008 and has since grown into a significant forum for discussing economic issues and other pressing global concerns, was founded in 1999 with the goal of bringing the most significant industrialised and developing nations together to discuss global economic and financial stability. We explain the history, significance and most importantly the G20 presidency that India would assume starting 1 December.
The G20 summit, that brings together the leaders of the world’s largest economies, will take place on Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia. The G20—a group of 19 nations plus the European Union, comprises almost two-thirds of the world’s population, 85 per cent of global output, and 75 per cent of world trade. As of 2022, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union make up the group’s 20 members.
Created in 1999 with the intention of bringing the most significant industrialised and developing nations together to discuss global economic and financial stability, The G20 leaders’ annual meeting, which started in 2008, has grown into a significant forum for talking about economics and other urgent global concerns. Despite the group’s effective involvement in the 2008 financial crisis, its coherence has subsequently deteriorated. For instance, analysts had heavily criticised its mediocre response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The G20 leaders gather annually to coordinate policies on an array of issues. Examples include the 2009 G20 summit debate about how to deal with a clandestine Iranian nuclear facility and the 2017 summit discussion of how to implement a partial cease-fire in Syria. The G20 is not an organisation with a permanent location, personnel, or offices. Instead, it has a consensus-based decision-making process, a yearly leadership rotation among its members, and depends on the political will of each member state to carry out its goal.
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In addition to the keynote addresses by world leaders, a range of bilateral talks will take place against the backdrop of ongoing tensions around the world, including those caused by the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing economic and environmental consequences, the climate crisis, North Korea’s simmering nuclear programme, and China’s expanding global aspirations.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of world leaders has grown significantly, and Indonesia, the host nation, has created an agenda that sheds importance on renewable energy, global health initiatives, and economic recovery from the pandemic.
Prior to his arrival in Bali, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra stated on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with several global leaders and discuss India’s shifting G20 goals with them.
Also read | Amid Russia, West divide, India’s G20 Sherpa Kant sees New Delhi as “honest broker”
Indian PM Narendra Modi will take part in three important sessions on food and energy security, digital transformation, and health, according to Kwatra. He and other world leaders will also hold extensive discussions on a number of contemporary burning topics, including the state of the world economy, issues pertaining energy, environment, agriculture, health, and digital transformation.
PM Modi will be attending the 17th G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia from tomorrow. India will hold presidency of G20 for one year starting from 1st December: Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra pic.twitter.com/RIYkHTmZKl
PM Modi’s G20 logo draws inspiration from the colours of Indian national flag: saffron, white and green, and blue. According to an official statement, it contrasts planet Earth with the lotus, India’s national flower that represents growth in the face of hardship. 
As it takes over the G20 presidency, India has enormous roadblocks to face. Inclusive, equitable, and sustainable growth, women’s empowerment, digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development, climate funding, global food security, and energy security are just a few of India’s G20 goals, but making them happen is going to be a task for India.
In recent times, the G20’s reputation has taken a hit. It is close to a catastrophe because it is all too clear that there is an internal strife. The West and Russia have refused to agree on anything; they even resisted sitting down and talking about their issues. Thus, India has the tedious job of resolving disagreements and lead from the front.
US president Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping will have their first face-to-face meeting as leaders on Monday afternoon in Bali, albeit it is not strictly a G20 meeting. The outcomes of the US midterm elections have given Biden a greater political clout, and he has stated that he would work to set red lines in the US-China relationship that enable competition and coexistence. He’s also expected to issue warning against an invasion of Taiwan and efforts to restrict navigation of the South China sea.
Rishi Sunak, the new British PM, is travelling to Bali to take on his first significant diplomatic test. He is anticipated to draw his attention to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and to emphasise support for Kyiv.
Additionally, Biden and Sunak will have their first in-person meeting at Bali. US officials have increased pressure on both parties to reach a consensus on the Northern Ireland protocol before the Good Friday Agreement’s 25th anniversary in 2023. Although President Vladimir Putin has pulled out, Russia will be represented by his seasoned foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
(With inputs from agencies)
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