Negotiators from G20 states look to narrow divergences on key issues

Negotiators from G20 states are focused on narrowing divergences on a range of issues, from India’s signature initiatives such as digital public infrastructure (DPI) to cutting the use of fossil fuels, during discussions on a draft leaders’ declaration, people familiar with the matter said.

While much of the focus has been on the divisions between the G7 states and emerging economies over the text to refer to the Ukraine conflict, the people said the Indian side has also had to grapple with divergences on issues such as debt restructuring, funding for green development, regulating cryptocurrency and the proposal to make the African Union (AU) a full member of the G20.

Throughout its presidency of the G20, the Indian side has made a concerted push for DPI, especially the so-called “India Stack” comprising open APIs and digital public goods, to help developing countries overcome the digital divide. The Global South and developing economies within G20 evinced interest in DPI, especially solutions developed by India for the public good.

This includes the use of technology for leak-proof transfer of subsidies using the JAM trinity – Jan-Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification and mobile phones – and fintech solutions such as the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Rupay credit card, and RBI’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The people said some developed countries were not in sync with India’s plan to globalise DPI free of cost and there has also been lobbying against these efforts by Western payment processing networks. “Unanimity on this matter seems elusive at the G20 due to opposition by some developed countries,” one of the people cited above said.

The Indian side has offered to manage a repository of DPI while pursuing the option of financing from multilateral institutions and non-government bodies to rollout digital solutions in developing countries.

Saudi Arabia, China and Russia are among the countries that have pushed back against efforts to ramp up renewable energy capacity and reduce the use of fossil fuels, while several European states have differed with the Indian side on a possible regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, the people said.

Over the course of several ministerial meetings, the Chinese side has sought to stymie efforts aimed at debt restructuring, rollout of DPI, women-led development and even the Indian theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family) on the ground that Sanskrit is not one of the official languages of the United Nations, the people said.

The people said Beijing’s opposition on these issues and President Xi Jinping’s decision to skip the G20 Summit during September 9-10 appear to be linked to the strained ties between India and China, which have been locked in a military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since May 2020.

India’s proposal to make the AU a full member of the G20 has also faced pushback from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Australia on a number of grounds, the people said. While some countries have pointed out that AU’s rotational chair can be made an invitee to the G20 process – on the lines of the invitation extended to the rotational chair of Asean – others have contended the inclusion of the African bloc will change the character of the G20.

The people said it was becoming increasingly likely that the resolution of differences over the Ukraine crisis may have to be left to the top leadership, especially in view of the entrenched divergences over the conflict. “The differences have become wider since the last G20 Summit and Russia and China have been insisting that the G20 is not the forum for taking up this issue,” a second person said.