India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday officially accepted to take up the rotating chair of the G20 an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday officially handed over the G20 presidency to India at the end of a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Bali.
India will assume G20 presidency for one year, beginning December 1, 2022.
“We will organise G20 meetings in different states and cities in India. Together we will make G20 a catalyst for global change,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that it is a matter of pride for every Indian as the country takes over the presidency.
Modi said that India’s G20 presidency will be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented.”
“In the next one year, it will be our endeavour that G20 works as a global prime mover to give impetus to collective action,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi said that the principle of “data for development” will be an integral part of the overall theme of India’s upcoming G20 Presidency.
“Digital transformation is the most remarkable change of our era. The proper use of digital technologies can become a force multiplier in the decades-long global fight against poverty,” Modi said at a session on digital transformation.
The digital transformation should not be confined to a small part of the human race and its greater benefits will be realised only when digital access becomes truly inclusive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Mr. Modi said India’s experience in the past few years has shown that if digital architecture is made widely accessible, it can bring about socio-economic transformation.
Earlier on Wednesday, Modi spokeout on the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine saying war was not necessary in today’s era, “Today’s era must not be of war,” Modi said.
Until then, India was being criticised for remaining silent and was under attack for buying Russian oil, even as the West had shunned it.
G20 leaders however, noted that Russia’s invasion “is wreaking havoc for people everywhere” due to its impact on food, fuel and fertiliser prices.
India’s role is seen to be important also in the context of its presidency of the grouping from December 1.
