What Is Delhi Declaration? All You Need To Know About Consensus Document

The G20 summit on Saturday adopted the Delhi Declaration under India's presidency after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said consensus had been built among member countries. PM Modi, who is chairing the G20 sessions, congratulated the Sherpas and ministers who had worked towards forging the consensus. The G20 summit is being held in the national capital for two days-September 9 and 10-and is being attended by heads of state of the world's leading economies.

What is the Delhi Declaration?

With consensus eluding on the paragraph relating to the Ukraine conflict, India circulated on Friday a draft Summit Declaration among the member countries without the paragraph on the geopolitical issue in an attempt to hammer out a positive outcome, according to news agency PTI.

The declaration places emphasis on strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.

The reference to geopolitics is especially important given the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

What has PM Modi said about the Delhi Declaration?

The Prime Minister said while addressing the second session of the summit, "Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on the New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration."

PM Modi was speaking at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan.

India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the Delhi Declaration was historic and path-breaking and said there was 100% consensus on all developmental and geopolitical issues.

Key highlights of Delhi Declaration

• The document mentions that all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.
• The declaration mentioned that terrorism constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. All acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever, or by whomever they are committed.
• The document emphasises protecting the vulnerable through promoting equitable growth and enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability.
• The declaration focuses on strong and sustainable growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals, a green development pact, and reinvigorating multilateralism.
• The New Delhi Leaders Declaration stated that the G20 member countries are dedicated to promoting unrestricted, open and fair trade in the fields of agriculture, food, and fertilizers, with a commitment to refrain from imposing export restrictions.
• The G-20 nations agree to remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture. Countries will enhance the resilience of health systems and support the development of climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems in collaboration with multilateral development banks (MDBs).
• The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration emphasised the necessity of aligning financial flows with climate objectives while expanding finance, capacity-building, and technology transfer with a focus on the priorities and needs of developing countries.