On March 2nd, 2023, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, addresses the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of G20 countries via video message. The Prime Minister emphasized why India chose the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ for its G20 Presidency, highlighting the need for unity of purpose and action. He expressed his belief that the meeting would reflect the spirit of coming together to achieve common and concrete objectives.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that multilateralism is in a state of crisis in the world today. He pointed out that the global governance architecture created after the Second World War was meant to prevent future wars by balancing competing interests and fostering international cooperation on issues of common interests.
However, the financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism, and wars in the past few years have shown the failure of global governance in both its mandates. The Prime Minister noted that developing countries are facing the tragic consequences of this failure, including unsustainable debt, food, and energy insecurity, and the effects of global warming caused by rich countries. He emphasized that India’s G20 Presidency has tried to give a voice to the Global South, highlighting that no group can claim global leadership without listening to those most affected by its decisions.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the meeting is taking place at a time of deep global divisions, and as the leading economies of the world, the responsibility towards those who are not in the room lies with the G20 countries. He highlighted that the G20 has the capacity to build consensus and deliver concrete results in growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, transnational crime, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security.
The Prime Minister suggested that resolutions for issues that cannot be addressed together should not come in the way of those that can be resolved. He urged the excellencies to draw inspiration from India’s civilizational ethos of focusing not on what divides us but on what unites us all.
The Prime Minister noted the thousands of lives lost in natural disasters and the disastrous pandemic that the world faced, highlighting how global supply chains have broken down during times of stress and turmoil.
He stressed the need to show resilience in societies, economies, healthcare systems, and infrastructure. The Prime Minister suggested that the G20 could more easily find the right balance between growth and efficiency on one hand and resilience on the other by working together and playing a critical role in the process.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the collective wisdom and ability of the G20 countries and hoped that the meeting would be ambitious, inclusive, and action-oriented, where resolutions are made while rising above differences. The Prime Minister’s address emphasized the need for unity and cooperation among the G20 countries to address the global challenges facing the world today.
