India’s inclusion among developed and emerging economies at the G20 is helping it push proposals in areas such as digital transformation and climate justice through the political heavy lifting that may be needed to reach consensus on the Ukraine crisis, people familiar with the matter said on Friday matters.
As the G20 Sherpas, or senior officials acting on behalf of the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies, discuss the text of the final communique to be adopted at the September summit, the Indian side has been mounting coordinated pressure on several issues considered crucial. for developing countries, including fair debt restructuring, data for development and finding climate finance.
On digital public infrastructure, the Indian side is pushing for a secure and interoperable digital ecosystem, the people said. The Indian side expects this to be reflected in the final communique to be adopted by leaders at the upcoming G20 summit, while the details of such infrastructure may be finalized in subsequent discussions.
India’s so-called “digital stack”, which includes open-source applications for identity, digital payments and health solutions, has already seen a good response in developing countries, including in Africa, and is expected to boost momentum for DPI at the G20, the people said .
Work in the digital realm also includes evolving common cybersecurity standards, the people added.
The Indian side is working on a joint framework for debt restructuring, especially for vulnerable debt-ridden countries of the Global South, that will include private, bilateral and multilateral debt, the people said. According to them, there should be a common but differentiated response to set benchmarks through a common framework and develop country-specific solutions.
Since this joint framework will also include strong transparency and data sharing, the Chinese side has not been very supportive of it, the people said. These measures have been welcomed by other G20 members.
India’s initiatives to restructure multilateral financial institutions are linked to generating funds for green development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since India is not a major producer of fossil fuels, its green energy work is aimed at decarbonizing while boosting growth, the people said.
Referring to the Ukraine crisis as the “1,000-pound gorilla in the room,” people said some political heavy lifting might be needed because the G20 is the only forum where decisions rest with leaders. The text used in the statement by leaders at the last G20 summit in Indonesia only created a “closure zone” that they said did not last long.
The Bali communique said most G20 members “strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” and stressed that it was increasing energy and food insecurity, but added that there were also “different views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions”. The G7 members do not want to move away from this text, although Russia and China say that this wording is no longer acceptable because the situation on the ground has changed.
The work of the 14 Sherpas and other senior officials attending the Hampi talks is aimed at setting the stage for G20 leaders to intervene if necessary, the people said.
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