Any worthwhile global agenda agreed for future implementation and fit to address 21st century challenges must have a direction, a time-frame, agreed sharing of financial resources between the Global South and the developed world and the support of multilateral and international bodies. In his new book, Amitabh Kant, the Sherpa of the G20 Summit held under India’s presidency in Delhi in 2023, chronicles the preparatory process and progress towards the summit and the strategies adopted to carry along the grand flock of Global South and developed nations. Kant identifies priorities for policy-makers, academics, students and general readership.
The book details the history of G20 and its progress till the Delhi summit and the final outcome. Despite multilateralism being mutilated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and a global development framework being pulled down by the growing climate crisis, digital divide and increasing poverty in the Global South, Kant lucidly paints the success of the Delhi summit. Whether it is the remarkable inclusion of the African Union as a full member or acceptance of an agreed roadmap by all the participating leaders by adopting the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, Kant’s book attributes its success to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While Kant presents the evolving negotiation charter on various priority areas, including green development, inclusive growth, progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), women-led development and reforms of the multilateral system and bodies, his powerful chapter on digital transformation is noteworthy. Not only does he talk about India’s success in building digital public infrastructure (DPI) as a great democratic equaliser through technological progress, he also explains how the same can transform the Global South’s vision through adaptation and incorporation, through mutual cooperation and transfer of technology.
While global geostrategy, geopolitics and geoeconomics have been appropriately discussed in the book, the emergent priority of accelerating progress on the SDGs and forming an agenda where climate change and economic development achieve substantial reach side by side are presented by the author in the chapters that effectively simplify the technical details, the political and financial hurdles, limitations of the multilateral organisations and the so-called North-South divide.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s foreword, besides appreciating the efforts of India’s Sherpa, documents with clarity the nuances of India’s leadership in holding the successful G20 Summit, skilfully identifying global priorities and issues and pointing a way ahead with the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. Kant also highlights the summit talks and negotiations that balanced positions of global powers yet generated a productive and future work plan-based document.
Human-centric development, an approach that carried the participating countries atop Mount G20 together, and term approach for implementation of the global agenda were, according to the author, the Sherpa’s load that was carried so smoothly under Modi’s leadership. The book is a comprehensive account detailing many aspects of the summit, which will, in turn, guide G20 preparatory leadership and officials in future.
The reviewer was secretary, ministry of external affairs.
How India Scaled Mt G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency
By Amitabh Kant
Published by Rupa
Pages 231; price Rs595