As India takes the helm of the G20 (Group of 20 nations), French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a photo of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, referring to New Delhi’s mantra for a pivotal role. “One Earth. One Family. One Future. India takes over G20India Presidency! I trust my friend @NarendraModi to bring us together to build peace and a more sustainable world. (sic),” he wrote.
New Delhi took the helm of the G20 on December 1 in what was termed as a huge opportunity for the country. In a blog post this week, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India’s G20 agenda “will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented and decisive.” “The biggest challenges facing the world today can only be solved by acting together. Let us come together to make India’s presidency of the G20 a presidency of healing, harmony and hope,” he further blogged.
Macron’s post came a day after the President of the United States – Joe Biden – said on Friday that he would support “my friend Prime Minister Modi” during India’s chairmanship of the G20 to promote sustainable and inclusive growth. Quoting the prime minister’s tweet on India’s agenda, Biden said: “India is a strong partner of the United States and I look forward to supporting my friend Prime Minister Modi during India’s chairmanship of the G20.
Together, we will advance sustainable and inclusive growth while tackling common challenges such as the climate, energy and food crises. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also stressed that the country is taking over the G20 presidency under challenging circumstances, but will push the world’s biggest economies to find collective solutions to global problems. Jaishankar also referred to the divisions caused by the Ukraine crisis at the G20 summit hosted by Indonesia last month, saying: “The world is very polarized today… Even having everyone in the room was a real challenge at the last G20 meeting in Bali.”
“India needs to take the lead in pushing for collective action and that is exactly what we intend to do at the G20,” he added. The country will host 161 G20-related meetings and events, of which 14 will be held in four cities of Maharashtra – Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, it said. The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government plans to use the G20 meetings to be held in the state as an opportunity to brand its major cities.
