This article was first published on firstpost.com | September 06, 2023
The PM’s assertion about the democratisation of the G20 and how differently India has organised the event reflects not only a lasting legacy that India’s G20 presidency will leave behind in diplomatic terms but also a nuanced political approach to big events domestically
Several key things stand out from PM Narendra Modi’s latest interview with Network 18’s Rahul Joshi, Santosh Menon, Karthik Subbaraman and Javed Sayed where the prime minister laid out his plans ahead of the global summit:
Democratisation of the G20: The PM’s assertion about the democratisation of the G20 and how differently India has organised the event — with 220 meetings being held in 60 cities across all 28 states and eight Union Territories.
This is significantly different from the usual mono-focus on national capitals. It reflects not only a lasting legacy that India’s G20 presidency will leave behind in diplomatic terms but also a nuanced political approach to big events domestically. As PM Modi put it, “Historically, in the circles of power, there was a certain reluctance to think beyond Delhi, particularly Vigyan Bhavan, for hosting national and international meets. This may have been due to convenience or lack of confidence in the people.”
Modi insisted that he has not made any of his major policy announcements from Vigyan Bhawan. Even the UPI announcement, for example, was made at the Talkatora stadium.
In some ways, this decentralising approach is a natural offshoot of the Modi government’s approach in bilateral diplomacy as well. In terms of world leaders, the then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel was hosted in Bengaluru. French President Emmanuel Macron and the then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Varanasi. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was hosted in Goa and Mumbai. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Shantiniketan. The then-French President Francois Hollande visited Chandigarh.
In terms of multilateral forums, India hosted the BRICS Summit in Goa and the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Corporation Summit in Jaipur.
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This article was first published on firstpost.com | September 06, 2023
