There is success, against the odds and against the clock, at the meeting of G-20 leaders in New Delhi:
“Friends, I just received good news. Thanks to the great work of our team, a consensus has been reached for the Leaders’ Declaration of the G-20 New Delhi Summit”. This is how the Indian head of government, Narendra Modi, conveyed the good news to his foreign counterparts , according to a video posted on social networks.
A few hours before, there were still many who feared that the disagreements over the Russian invasion of Ukraine would make it impossible to agree on a text, as was achieved, in extremis, at last year’s summit in Bali.
The declaration, with measured language, calls for “a complete, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” and calls on member countries to “not violate the territorial integrity of other states,” as well as “not resort to the threat of the use of force in order to obtain territorial gains.
The declaration also considers that “recourse to nuclear weapons or the threat of using them is inadmissible.”
The text proclaims that the signatory governments will unite “in the effort to deal with the adverse impact of the war on the global economy and will welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a complete, just and lasting peace in Ukraine that respect the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter for the promotion of peaceful and friendly neighborly relations between nations under the spirit of ‘one Earth, one Family, one Future'” (motto of the New Delhi summit).
In another vein, food and energy security, as well as the fight against global warming, have once again occupied a privileged place at this event. To combat climate change, the declaration formulates the goal of tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030.
Another important message from this summit is the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G-20, as the European Union has been since the beginning. The international organization based in Addis Ababa welcomes the fact that dozens of African countries, in addition to South Africa, will be able to participate in this global event.
This fact enhances India’s image as a champion of developing countries. “Giving a voice to the global South” has been precisely one of the efforts of the Indian rotating presidency of the G-20, since last November. This recognition of the African continent comes in the wake of dramatic changes in the game of influences. France, in particular, continues to lose ground in what was called Françafrique, with a succession of coups d’état throughout this decade – accelerated in recent months – that in most cases result in a parallel increase in the Russian influence. Likewise, China has been, for years, the first trading partner of almost all African nations. So it is not surprising that the recent BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg admitted two new African partners, Ethiopia and Egypt. The unexpected opening of the doors of the G-20 to a new partner, such as the AU, must be read within this context.
