Sheikh Abdullah said he was heartened to learn of India’s vision for the G20 Presidency…reports Asian Lite News
Supporting the Indian presidency of the G20 is a key priority for the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has said.
Pledging support to global peace and stability, Sheikh Abdullah affirmed that dialogue and diplomacy are the most successful options for building trust and addressing crises. He said UAE is taking this approach as the world prepares for India’s hosting of the G20 Summit in 2023.
In an article in The Indian Express, Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE has long viewed the G20 as a forum that plays a critical role in multilateral efforts. “With its focus on global financial issues, the G20’s members include major developed and developing economies that account for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of trade, and nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. As such, the G20 has the ability to reshape decision-making for the greater international good, and the UAE has been a reliable participant in the G20 framework to confront shared international challenges while encouraging a balanced, sustainable, and comprehensive global economic recovery.”
Terming supporting Indian’s G20 presidency as a key priority, Sheikh Abdullah said he was heartened to learn of India’s vision for the term, including its ambitions to strengthen women’s empowerment; achieve bold progress in health, agriculture, and education; mobilise financing for climate change mitigation and global food security; bolster the fight against financial crime, and reform multilateral institutions to become more inclusive.
“In fact, the latter is also a key priority of the UAE, as it has worked tirelessly to amplify the voices of small and underrepresented countries in the G20. This strategy is a natural extension of the UAE’s foreign policy, which always seeks to support partners around the world and ensure that diverse perspectives are heard on the critical issues of our time,” he wrote in The Indian Express.
He stressed that through its participation in the G20 process as a guest country of Indonesia, “particularly following its successful experience as a guest of Saudi Arabia in 2020, the UAE has remained committed to strengthening economic cooperation, serving as a reliable and responsible energy supplier, and ensuring the stability of global energy markets.”
Moreover, through the G20’s Sherpa and Finance Tracks, the UAE has doubled down on its pioneering agenda in the clean energy sector and ambitious initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, he said.
As the upcoming host of COP28 in November 2023, the UAE has leveraged its participation in the G20 process to mobilise international action and will continue to do so in the lead-up to the conference, he added.
He expressed hope that over the next year, the world can choose to collaborate to improve economic growth, political stability, and human security.
“By laying the groundwork for heightened international cooperation and enhanced engagement with the private sector through multilateral fora such as the G20, the UAE and its partners are determined to forge a better world — one where prosperity is commonplace, and human progress is an inalienable right for all,” he wrote.
India has a middle-ground: Jaishankar
Underscoring the importance of India’s G20 presidency, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said India has a middle-ground to bring different parties to the table.
Addressing a press briefing at G20 University Connect, he said, “World is very polarised. Even having everybody in the room was a real challenge in the last G20 meeting in Bali. A country like India, which is independent-minded, has a middle-ground to bring different parties to the table.” Speaking about the sufferings of the global South due to the polarization, he said, “The polarization in the world may occur elsewhere, but people in the Global South suffer the most. Our intentions would be to get leaders on what a large part of the world thinks.”
“Our intention is to be very much a champion of Global South. The majority of guests that are brought are actually from the global south,” he added.
Jaishankar also emphasised on India becoming the voice of the Global South and expressing their concerns on fuel, food and fertilizers.
“We share too the apprehension that sustainable development, climate action and climate justice could be sidetracked due to more dominant issues,” said Jaishankar.
He said that the time is on our side. With each passing day, the world sees the value of India which wasn’t the case 45 years ago.
“By end of the decade, we will be the most populous country, and almost certainly we will be the third-largest economy in the world. Our human resources will be critical for the global economy by 2030 in a world dominated by artificial intelligence,” said EAM Dr S Jaishankar.
Underscoring the importance of this juncture, the minister said this is not a development that should be regarded as just one more diplomatic happening.
“On the contrary, it is a crucial responsibility that is being assumed by India at a very challenging time in world politics and at an inflection point in India’s own history,” he said.
Jaishankar also highlighted a change in a representative and democratic international order, adding, “A representative and democratic international order must press for change, not just in the United Nations but in other international institutions as well.”
He reiterated that as the mother of democracy, India’s G20 presidency will be consultative, collaborative and decisive. (with inputs from ANI)