Leaders’ declaration to African Union’s merger, key takeaways from day 1 of G20 Summit

Both sessions – ‘One Earth’ and ‘One Family’ – of the much-awaited G20 Leaders’ Summit on the first day concluded with achieving the significant joint declaration after full consensus by the member states.

The 37-page declaration has also mentioned the ‘War in Ukraine’ and added Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Today’s era must not be of war’ remark on conflicts.

Moreover, after much anticipation, the Group of Twenty (G20) nations have officially made the African Union a permanent member of the intergovernmental forum. The grouping had 19 countries along with the European Union (EU), and the joining of the 55-member African bloc adds another member to the forum.

Here are key takeaways from day 1 of G20 Leaders’ Summit:

Leaders’ Declaration

Speculations were rife about the failure in achieving a joint declaration after Russia warned of blocking any declaration that doesn’t reflect Moscow’s views along with EU’s continued criticism of Russia which also made its way to this summit. However with a climbdown on its language from last year’s summit in Bali, this year’s declaration featured PM Modi’s comment on conflict resolution, indicating that the G7 nations and EU have appreciated India’s stance amid Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Revisiting the roots of the G20 congregation, the declaration noted that the forum is not a platform to settle security and geopolitical issues, however, it agreed that these issues can lead to crucial consequences for the global economy.

With respect to ‘war in Ukraine’, the declaration called for upholding of international law by all states, including sovereignty and territorial integrity.

2. India’s rail, waterway link to Middle-East and Europe

The formal announcement of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Corridor on the sidelines of the G20 Summit has paved way for the first-of-its-kind drive to strengthen trade ties between India and other countries in the sub-continent like Nepal and Bangladesh and Middle-Eastern and European nations, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany and France.

This initiative will play a pivotal role in counterbalancing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It would establish railways, ports, electricity, hydrogen pipelines and data network between participating nations.

“This is a real big deal,” said US President Joe Biden, locking arms with Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a triple handshake.

3. Welcoming new member to the bloc

Meeting India’s commitment, the G20 began its 2023 Summit by welcoming the African Union to its league. A congregation of resource-rich nations, the AU’s membership will ensure its contribution towards checking the climate change. It has 60% of the world’s renewable energy and over 30% of the minerals that are used to develop renewable technologies with low-carbon emissions.

The African bloc at full strength has 55 members, however, six junta-ruled nations are currently suspended. It has a collective GDP of $3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.

4. Push for climate financing

One of the key challenges faced by the G20 is to establish a concrete financing structure to combat climate change. The Green Development Pact will be a step towards tackling with this challenge. This declaration calls upon the developed nations to double their funding for the cause from $100 billion a year by 2025.

The India-led ‘global biofuels alliance’ has also been announced in a bid to form a group international organisations, governments and industries to ensure the adoption of biofuels.

India has also announced a G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation with an aim to provide data on climate and weather for all nations, especially for the Global South.

“The climate and weather data obtained from this will be shared with all the countries, especially the countries of the Global South. India invites all G20 countries to join this initiative,” PM Modi said during a session.