New Delhi: The G20 meet unanimously adopted the "New Delhi declaration" earlier today – a step that was seen as a huge win for India in view of a hugely divisive issue like the ongoing war in Ukraine. Over the last one year, no international grouping has been able to reach a consensus on the phrasing on Ukraine and failure to achieve a consensus on the declaration would have made it a first in the history of G20.
Announcing the consensus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "There is good news... With our team's hard work and with the help of everyone involved, the New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration has reached a consensus".
"My request is that this should be adopted by all G20 leaders. I hope it will be. At this time, I would also like to offer heartfelt thanks to all ministers and sherpas who have worked hard to make this possible," he added.
India's G20 sherpa and foreign ministry official Amitabh Kant has told NDTV that the resolution was finally nailed last night, after he asked the Sherpas of other nations to escalate the matter if they disagreed,
"I said, 'This is the final draft and you either take it or the deal drops.' I also told them, 'If anyone has any objection, your leader can talk to my leader.' So, I pulled in the weight of the PM at that time," Mr Kant had told NDTV.
India's deft handling of the matter has won praise from several quarters.
"India has assumed a kind of power and an ability to bring countries together. Not many countries are in a position to negotiate as India has done, that is, take on board comments from everyone, and work out a compromise proposal. This is something important," French diplomatic sources have said.
"The statement says that all States must refrain from conquering territories by force. Russia is the only country to have done so. All this helps to build consensus for the future," sources added.
The New Delhi meet made history with the inclusion of the African Union and key developments like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor with India, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union Commission.
Foreign ministers who assembled for G20 since yesterday, have agreed on the need to tackle various challenges including those on climate.
"The G20 has made important progress and I am specifically grateful for the commitment made today to triple renewables by 2030," said COP28 President-Designate Dr Sultan Al-Jaber.
"These 20 countries account for 80 per cent of global emissions, So this declaration sends a powerful signal for climate progress," he added.
"India's G20 Presidency has been the most ambitious in the history of G20," said Union minister Hardeep Puri, citing the 73 outcomes and 39 annexed documents, more than twice the earlier meets, the declaration includes.
Calling it a "very mature and intelligent drafting with everybody on board," Mr Puri said, "It ends with this is not an era of war… This will be remembered as a major milestone in the post-Covid world. It will give impetus to other multilateral institutions".
"On all fronts -- health, climate, climate finance, you can do a simple metric before and after that this G20 has produced… This is a post-Covid new international order (and) a moment of rejoicing and celebration," he added.