India can be ‘bridge in a polarised world’ amid Global South push, G20 shows

Name: US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as India meeting closes without Putin and China’s Xi
Uploaded: 2023-09-17T03:30:23.000Z
Duration: 3 min 15 s
Description: US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as India meeting closes without Putin and China’s Xi

With the G20 summit – led by India – over, PM Narendra Modi now wants to capitalise on its success, despite widely varying opinions within the bloc

India can be a ‘counterweight’ to other players and a ‘bridge’ between Russia-China and US-EU, analysts say, which ‘gives it diplomatic heft’

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Supporters shower flower petals on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday after the country’s successful hosting of a G20 summit. Photo: AP

Biman Mukherji

Published: 11:30am, 17 Sep 2023

The successful conclusion of a G20 summit that resulted in a joint communique has boosted India’s bid to be viewed as a leader of the Global South and highlighted its ability to be a “bridge in an increasingly polarised world”, diplomatic observers say.

As world leaders gathered in New Delhi last week, the chances of a joint statement looked remote due to deep divisions between bloc members over their stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and other geopolitical tensions.

But India’s diplomatic efforts – symbolised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 73, standing up throughout the day to greet each dignitary – seemed to help wear down objections.

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US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as India meeting closes without Putin and China’s Xi

In an interview with India’s WION channel, foreign minister S. Jaishankar credited Modi for the eventual agreement on a communique, which came despite differences of opinion on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Jaishankar said Modi reached out to his counterparts on the last day of the summit to resolve the “last few roadblocks” to a joint communique. The US and Russia are among the G20 members that have praised India for its leadership of the bloc this year.

Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said India “is trying to show that it is an increasingly important and capable player on the global stage” and “a bit of a counterweight” to other major international players.

“One way to do that is to act as a leading voice for the Global South, which I think is a space that neither the United States nor China is really filling at the moment,” he added.

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