In difficult phase of int’l politics, G20 Summit was bit plus: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday said that in the totality of global diplomacy at a very difficult phase in international politics, the G20 Summit was a big plus.Speaking at a G20 tree plantation event in the national capital, Jaishankar said, “We have two reasons today to be satisfied. In the totality of global diplomacy at a very difficult phase in international politics, actually the G20 (summit) was a big plus on the positive side of the global ledger. Secondly it has made a country which is today the fifth largest economy, which in many ways is globalising at a very rapid rate, it has made this society far more connected with the rest of the world.”

The external affairs minister went on to add that when he is asked about the takeaways from the G20 Summit, he lists some of the key achievements to them.

“As we bask in the afterglow of the Summit (G20), I am often asked — tell me what did you really get done? When I look at what we got done, to me the four to five key takeaways were the action plan for the SDG which directly fed into the SDG Summit which happened after the G20 — the Green Development Pact, the message of women led development, the support for digital public infrastructure, the LiFE Mission. At the end of it all, there was a very strong sustainability, green, global south image that came out of the G20,” Jaishankar said.

“About three weeks ago, I was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. I must share with you that the G20 was very much the subject of conversation. A lot of people were still a little surprised that the G20 could bridge what were strong positions and deep divides. Many other countries also took particular satisfaction at the permanent membership of the African Union at the G20. But overall there was a sense in global diplomacy that this G20 actually delivered very substantively on what were the most pressing issues of the day. It turned out far better than most people expected,” he added.