As expected by experts, there was no joint statement after the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Delhi on Thursday, with India, as the G20 president, giving a briefing on the chairmanship.
Russia and China objected to two paragraphs of the chairman’s summary, which highlighted the conflict in Ukraine and was omitted from last year’s G20 Bali Declaration. The two countries objected to the verses in a chairman’s briefing after a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers in Bengaluru last week.
Therefore, there is no joint communication on two adjacent lines. The two documents read: “Parts 3 and 4 of this document, derived from the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration … have been approved by all member states except Russia and China.”
While the third paragraph condemns the war in Ukraine and its impact on the global economy, the fourth paragraph calls on countries to support the UN Charter on International Law.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said at a press conference on Thursday that consensus among member states on “key issues” affecting the Global South and developing countries was essential.
He told reporters that “an important meeting was held,” and that all member states agreed to discuss how to deal with the issue of counter-terrorism.
Foreign ministers from around the world traveled to the Indian capital to discuss multilateral reforms, food and energy security, counter-terrorism and other issues as part of the G20 summit held on March 1-2.
