With India’s G20 presidency marred by polarised differences among the member countries over the Ukraine conflict, there is uncertainty over the direction of the final resolution to be adopted on September 9-10 when the G20 Leaders’ Summit takes place at the swanky ITPO complex in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.
Top world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, will be in the Indian capital for the meeting.
It will be a testing time for India as the US-led West will try to persuade India to take a decisive stand on the Ukraine conflict, a stand New Delhi has deftly skirted till now with skillful diplomacy steered by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.
And the process of persuasion may have already begun.
In a briefing on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said Ukraine will be on the G20 Leader’s agenda in New Delhi. He said: “In all of our conversations with allies and partners around the world, we continue to discuss the war in Ukraine. It is always one of the top topics that comes up in all of our conversations, and I have no doubt that’ll be true at the G20.”
A day before, Miller had replied to a query on whether Biden will raise the issue of ‘religious persecution’ in India: “We regularly raise human rights concerns with countries with which we engage. Done that so in the past with India, and will do so in the future.”
Notably, India figures as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in a group of 17 countries in the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report for 2023.
This category includes Russia and China besides countries like North Korea, Myanmar and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the US Department of the Treasury has been acting stringently against several offshore companies owned by Indian jewellers over the past few months by freezing about Rs 215 crore worth of fund transfers under the SWIFT system.
Reports say the action has been taken as these companies have been allegedly importing rough diamonds from Russia.
OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals. It targets foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the US.
At about 7 per cent of the GDP, the contribution of the gems and jewellery sector is vital for the India economy. It has a 10-12 per cent share in the country’s total merchandise export besides being one of the leading sectors in terms of employment generation.
While India has added considerable manoeuverability and strategic depth to its strategic posturing by maintaining equidistance from both the US and Russia on the Ukraine issue, it is clear that there is an expiry date on that policy.