Knowing more about the G-20 summit: Advantage India

The G-20 summit refers to the G-20 countries that have come together with a common objective of strengthening the world’s economy. There are nineteen G-20 countries at the G-20 summit, along with the European Union, also known as the EU. The G-20 summit has become one of the most influential organisations in the world. The main goal of the G-20 countries is to make the global economy stronger. The G-20 countries also aim to strengthen financial cooperation and their decision-making.

About G-20 summit

The G-20 was officially formed in 1999 with the intent to make it easier to discuss various policies and ultimately attain stability in finance internationally. Another objective of this organisation was to help resolve the global economic crisis of 1997-1999. This was supposed to be done by the coming together of medium-income nations and by building a systemic economic impact.

The first meeting of the G-20 countries was held in 2008, nine years after its formation. To prepare for the summit, which is held annually, various ministers meet several times throughout the year. In many ways then, the planners for the G-20 summits are the finance ministers of the G-20 countries and the central bank governors. Moreover, the sherpas–personal representatives of the head of state–also join these meetings held multiple times a year.

Working of G-20 summit

The G-20 summit is hosted in rotation almost every year among the G-20 countries. Three countries work together to hold the G-20 summits. These countries are the current country that has the G-20 summit along with its predecessor and successor. This means that they hold the summit along with the country that held the G-20 the previous year and the country that will hold the summit next year. This group is popularly known as Troika. This year the members of the Troika are Italy, Indonesia and India.

G-20 countries

The G-20 is an organisation of 20 countries globally that has the common agenda of improving the world’s economy. The G-20 countries mainly included the middle-income nations. These members of the G-20 summit are as follows:                

• Australia

• Argentina

• Brazil

• China

• Canada

• France

• Germany

• Indonesia 

• Italy

• India

• Japan

• Republic of Korea

• Mexico

• Russia 

• South Africa

• Saudi Arabia

• Turkey

• United States

• United Kingdom

• The European Union

• Spain is the permanent guest country of the G-20 summits

Moreover, every year the G-20 invites guest countries. These guest countries participate in all activities of the G-20 summits. There is participation by various international as well as regional organisations. These organisations help the G-20 countries to make their representation even broader.

G-20 summit- Advantage India

India has played an important role in the G-20 summits for the last few years. Moreover, it is now a part of the Troika as India will hold the presidency of the G-20 next year. The benefits of G-20 summits for India over the year are as follows:

• The G-20 summit accepted the fact that the global economic output becomes complicated due to conflicts and terrorism. This benefits India as terrorism has been a significant concern for Indian security. Acceptance of this fact established that G-20 countries acknowledge India’s concerns.

• In 2016, India, including other emerging countries, was not capable of implementing the Paris agreement. This was because the country is still developing and is largely dependent on fossil fuels. So, the G-20 skipped stating the deadline of 2016 in the final draft. Most importantly, it was done even after the opposing pressure of countries like China and the United States.

• Besides, the press release of the G-20 also steered clear of mentioning the deadline for fuel subsidies. LPG, used by a significant country’s population as cooking gas, made a large part of the fuel subsidy. Hence, its abolition would have caused a breach of India’s food security.

• The G-20 countries also decided to abstain from the devaluation that would lead to chaotic activity in the exchange rates. The devalued currencies are important for the development of Indian exports.

• The G-20 countries pressed on for the increased participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) membership. This was done in addition to the IMF quota and governance reforms. The important point is that the IMF quota response was an important demand of India.

• The G-20 backed the G-20 blueprint for Innovative Growth. This will be acted upon in accordance with the respective nations of the G-20 countries. This is important for India as innovation is instrumental to the growth of the Indian economy, which has not been able to make up to 7 per cent for a few years now.

G-20 Summit 2020

In 2020, the G-20 summit was held virtually due to the COVID pandemic. The G-20 summit 2020 was hosted by Saudi Arabia. It was the 15th G-20 summit. All the leaders expressed their commitment to coordinating global action and showed solidarity. The main topics of concern were as follows:

COVID-19

The leaders expressed their need for coordination to curb the spread of the deadly virus. The EU leaders asked for US$ 4.5 billion for mass procurement and delivery of COVID-19 tools.

Debt relief

At the G-20 summit 2020, the countries actively supported fragile and economically weak nations such as those in Africa.

Climate change

The G-20 summit 2020 urged the countries to implement the Paris Agreement as quickly as possible. They emphasised that the European Union has been leading the path of Climate neutrality by 2050. 

Conclusion

G-20 is a multilateral organisation that brings together the developed and emerging countries of the world. The G-20 group comprises twenty countries which are together called G-20 countries. The G-20 plays a pivotal role in making the global economy strong and helping it prosper. The GDP represented by the G-20 is more than 80% of the world GDP. Every year the G-20 is held in one of the G-20 countries. In 2022, Indonesia will hold the presidency of the G-20 summit.