The outcome of the G20 under India’s presidency will be unprecedented, veteran diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, stressing that the international community sees India as one country that is ready to provide solutions to current global challenges.
Former US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and Consul General of India in New York Randhir Jaiswal were among the special guests at the event organized by Jaipur Foot USA, a subsidiary of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS).
India assumed the year-long chairmanship of the G20 on December 1 last year and is hosting more than 200 meetings and related events in cities across the country, culminating in the global leaders’ summit in New Delhi in September.
More than 40 heads of state, heads of government and international organizations will take part in the summit. At the conclusion of the summit in New Delhi, a declaration by G20 leaders will be adopted, which states the “commitment of leaders to the priorities discussed and agreed during the relevant ministerial and working group meetings”. “I have no doubt that the summit that India will host and the outcome that we will deliver in the G20 era will be unprecedented,” Shringla said.
He said the world is currently facing difficult times where the only certainty is uncertainty. “Many of our partners in the international community feel that if there is one country that is ready to provide solutions to the global situations that have emerged today, it is India,” he said.
India will fully meet the expectations of the international community, especially the Global South, of which “we are a part and have been its voice,” he said.
Highlighted about 100 G20 meetings across the world
Shringla also highlighted that about 100 G20 meetings have already been held across India, with each meeting witnessing a particular city and region’s rejuvenation, urban transformation and beautification.
It witnessed the engagement of people at the public and local level who never knew what the G20 was but knew it was something big for India and were happy to be a part of the effort, he said.
“Bringing the G20 to rock bottom through ‘Jan Bhagidari’ was the main objective which was achieved quite well,” he said. Earlier this month, the book ‘Not An Accidental Rise’ written by Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Sikkim University, Gangtok Dr. was launched in Darjeeling. Dipmala Roka.
Shringla noted that the book is a “well-researched” and “candid” account of “not only my career, but my entire life so far”. Shringla, who was India’s ambassador to the US and later secretary of state when Juster was Washington’s envoy to Delhi from 2017-2021, recalled that he worked very closely with his American counterpart on a number of issues, including some challenging situations.
“It was a difficult time. Shock after shock. Not only did we have the Covid-19 crisis, but we also had several violations on our western border by our neighbor China.”We’ve had a shock on our western border, which is Afghanistan, and “another shock on the eastern border with the situation in Myanmar and also the Ukrainian conflict,” he said.
Covid-19 crisis as well as during the Chinese standoff talks in G20
Juster recalled working closely with Shringla on a number of issues, with the “Howdy Modi” event in 2019 being “the most notable”, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then US President Donald Trump addressed more than 50,000 people from the diaspora community at the stadium in Houston.
Juster added that he and Shringla also collaborated and cooperated during the Covid-19 crisis as well as during the Chinese standoff. Jaipur Foot USA chairman Prem Bhandari described Shringla as “the people’s ambassador” and “the people’s foreign minister”.
Bhandari expressed gratitude for the consistent support Shringla has provided to millions of people of Indian origin in America and around the world, especially during crises like the Covid pandemic, issues related to OCI cards and evacuation of Indians from Ukraine due to conflict.
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