PM’s ‘not era of war’ comment gave voice to global sentiment: Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

“At Samarkand, the Prime Minister voiced global sentiment when he declared that this was not an era of war. His statement was in the context of the Ukraine conflict, where our advocacy of dialogue and diplomacy has been consistent and persistent. It has a larger resonance as well. We have also extended support on specific concerns, such as supply of food grains and, as indeed, on security of nuclear installations. Our position has been broadly appreciated by the international community and finds reflection in the G20 Bali Declaration,” Jaishankar said. This is a reiteration of Delhi’s position, but the framing that Modi voiced “global sentiment” is a new formulation after the Bali declaration.

With India assuming the presidency of the G20 on December 1, the Minister said G20 meetings had already started and the government aimed to organise around 200 meetings across 32 sectors in locations across the country. He said the G20 meetings were taking place in the context of “a geopolitical crisis, food and energy insecurity, slow progress on sustainable development goals, mounting debt burden and challenges to climate action and climate justice”. He said India’s focus would be to build consensus and champion the Global South within the G20.

“We envisage the G20 Presidency as an occasion to showcase India to the world. This will be done through cultural activities, regional festivals, technology programmes, sustainability initiatives, millets’ promotion, ‘one district, one product’ promotion, community engagement and civil society activities. Our presidency will witness a ‘jan bhagidari’, where all of India would not just participate but celebrate this occasion,” he said.