• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Transcript of Media Briefing by Presidency after the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting (March 02, 2023)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

March 02, 2023

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for joining us for this special media briefing on the ongoing G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting that is being held in New Delhi. We have the privilege of having with us here External Affairs Minister sir, Dr. S. Jaishankar, as well as Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary and Shri Abhay Thakur Additional Secretary (G20) and Sous-Sherpa of the G20 process. I would request EAM sir to give us a sense of the conversation that have taken place in the morning. As you know, this meeting commenced yesterday afternoon with a gala dinner, and discussions have been going on at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Center since the morning. Sir, may I hand over the floor to you for your opening remarks.

Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister: Thank you. Good evening to all of you. The Indian presidency today hosted the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting and I was privileged to chair two very productive sessions, which are covering various dimensions of international cooperation. The second session is in fact still going on. It's at its concluding period.

Now we saw participation from all the G20 countries and the nine guest countries. There were 13 international organizations that were represented at the meeting. We had the presence of Foreign Ministers of 27 countries, apart from India, the chair, and two countries - the Republic of Korea and Japan were represented at the Vice Minister, the Minister of State level, which I believe is actually the largest gathering of Foreign Ministers hosted by the G20 presidency.

Now in the morning, we were addressed by the Prime Minister virtually, and I think some of that is on public, actually that is on public record, right. For those of you who may not have seen, he gave us some pretty forthright advice, and I'd say strong guidance on what the Foreign Ministers should do at the meeting. If I were to sum up what the Prime Minister told us, there were five, to my mind, important points.

One, he noted that multilateralism is in a crisis today, and in terms of preventing future wars and fostering international cooperation, which were its two primary tasks, it had failed. The second point he had made was that it was important to give a voice to the global South, because the world was seeing a lot of countries actually regressing on their Sustainable Development Goals pathway. We were witnessing unsustainable debt. These were countries who were most affected by global warming, and therefore, it was particularly important to hear them.

The third point he made was that the discussions, which we were just beginning at that time, he recognized that these discussions were affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day, but he asked us all as Foreign Ministers to remember that we had a responsibility for those who were not in the room. Therefore, he urged that we draw inspiration from India's civilizational ethos and focus not on what divides us but on what unites us. He then spoke about the challenges that we should address, which included, of course, the impact of the pandemic, the lives lost in natural disasters, the breakdown of global supply chains, debt and financial crisis, challenges of resilience in healthcare systems, in infrastructure, in economies, and finally he asked us as Foreign Ministers to trust in our collective wisdom and ability, and to rise above our differences. So, I mentioned this at some length, because this was very much the spirit in which we approached the discussions today.

Now we had two rounds, two sessions really, of meetings and the topics ranged from strengthening multilateralism, ensuring food and energy security, development cooperation. The second session was on counter-terrorism, global skill mapping, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, as well as women-led development. Now the G20 ministers, after the discussions today at the negotiations which preceded it, we have agreed to issue a common position where the G20 as a group has come together and arrived at a consensus on many important issues. So, this has been adopted this afternoon as a chair summary and outcome document. This would hold us in good stead as we move forward with other working group meetings of the presidency and of course in preparation for the summit, which would take place in September.

Now what I'd like to do is really share some of the key takeaways from the outcome document and our discussions, and these include, one, of course the strong sentiment with G20 countries expressed on the need to strengthen multilateralism in the context of the dramatic changes in the global order. The G20 recognized in the context of the UN, the essentiality of reforms and the need for reinvigorated multilateralism. Two, the important principles of international development cooperation, such as host country ownership, equal partnerships, tailoring such cooperation efforts with local needs, these were some aspects highlighted by the G20. They also touched upon the need for MDBs, the Multilateral Development Banks, to mobilize additional financing and welcomed efforts to provide additional financing for Sustainable Development Goals.

The outcome document also stresses upon the need to have reliable food and fertilizer supply chains as well as resilient and sustainable energy supply chains. In the context of global food and energy insecurity, this we believe is a very important message. I would also like to highlight that the Foreign Ministers unequivocally condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations and recognized that all acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable. They called for strengthening of efforts to deny safe havens to terrorist groups, freedom of operations, movement and recruitment, as well as financial, material, or political support. The G20 also reflected upon the threats arising from the misuse of new and emerging technologies and highlighted the importance of strengthening international cooperation in that regard.

For the first time, the G20 Foreign Ministers considered and discussed the topic of counter narcotics and called for inclusive and strong international cooperation in this regard. They also discussed the topic of global skills mapping and this was in the context of the changing nature of work. They recognized that well-integrated skilled workers benefit not only in their country of origin, but also the destination country where they may happen to be employed. The G20 also accepted the need to strengthen international cooperation in the field of humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction. This will be further discussed in the working group on this particular subject, which has been newly set up by the Indian presidency.

Now as you all know, women-led development is one of the key priorities of the Indian presidency and it has been personally highlighted by the Prime Minister. After due deliberations on the G20 table, the Foreign Ministers affirmed the need to put gender equality and empowerment of women and girls including their leadership at the core of our efforts for inclusive recovery.

Important discussions on global health were also held. The statement, the outcome document I'm talking about, highlights the need for strengthening key aspects of global health architecture, support for the pandemic fund, and continued political attention to global health. It stresses the need for implementing the one health approach.

The Foreign Ministers addressed climate action in the context of common but differentiated responsibilities and urged developed countries to fulfill their commitments to deliver on the goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion per year urgently and through to 2025 to tackle climate change.

Now, despite the challenges of the divergent positions on the conflict in Ukraine, the G20 Foreign Ministers were able to come to a consensus on addressing these key challenges that I have just mentioned. As the Prime Minister urged, we did indeed focus more on what unites us than what divides us.

You would also see that it has been our endeavor to ensure that the voice of the Global South is heard on the G20 table and that is why India had organized the Voice of the Global South Summit in January this year in which I think 125 countries participated. So the agenda for the Foreign Ministers' Meeting as well as the outcome document has very clearly taken forward the priorities of the Global South. We are also particularly glad to see so many of our friends and partners from the Global South on the table, because India as president had invited them. I would also like to point out that today's sessions commenced with a moment of silence to pay respect to those who lost their lives in the recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. Ahead of our deliberations in today's first session, as I told you, the Prime Minister gave his virtual address to the Foreign Ministers.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all G20 members, to all the participating delegations, obviously to our own team working on it, for the support which they have given to the priorities of the presidency, for the efficient holding of today's meeting. We believe that the outcome document is truly a reflection of G20's commitment to face global challenges squarely and collectively.

The G20 Foreign Ministers along with the ministers from the guest countries and heads of delegations from international organizations will be calling upon the Prime Minister very shortly, in fact, immediately after this press conference. So this really in summary is a sense of what was discussed today, what was negotiated amongst the G20 members, and the chair summary and outcome document will of course be released in due course.

So I think Arindam that should pave the way for questions.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, thank you very much sir for a detailed and comprehensive perspective, sir. Some ground rules before I open the floor for questions. Please introduce yourself and the organization that you represent. Please note we will try to limit questions to one per organization outlet. We will also be grouping questions, and finally, we have a very hard cut on time as Honorable Minister mentioned he has to go somewhere, so please don't be disappointed.

Sudhi Ranjan: Sir, Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. Sir, if you could give us an understanding as to why the Foreign Ministers could not come to a consensus. We know India was trying very hard to convince everybody, in fact, China and Russia to kind of agree on this. I mean where did the hurdle come up, if you could give us an understanding. Thank you.

Barbara Plett Usher: Thank you. Barbara Plett Usher from the BBC. The Russians issued a statement after a meeting between China and Russia on the sidelines of the event in which they criticized the West for employing blackmail and threats, and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and I was wondering whether that had any impact on your efforts to come to a joint communique; or I know you've highlighted that you were able to deal with the issues, you wanted to find consensus on, but to what degree did that affect the discussions and to just clarify that a chair summary is not a joint communique, and whether you felt short of your expectations in terms of what you might have been able to achieve. Thank you.

Rishikesh: Sir, Rishikesh from PTI. So, my question is, is the Russia-Ukraine conflict potentially derailing aspirations of global South under India's Presidency, sir, especially India's concerns about Chinese aggression in Indo-Pacific region?

Sidhant: Sir, Sidhant from WION. My question is, do you think the Russia-Ukraine conflict is potentially paralyzing the grouping because of the divide between Russia and the West? And my second question, what was your meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: The first question has already been asked. I'll take that a second one.

Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs: Okay. You know, in a sense, the first three questions cover a very similar area. So I'm really clubbing it together. I'll take, I'll ignore your first question because you're allowed only one. So I'll take the China question.

You know the picture which I was sharing with you was the 20 G20 delegations, members, the negotiators, the ministers, we met, we discussed. The officials also obviously negotiated. Now there were a very large number of issues on which there was agreement and in fact, if you look at, you know, the detailed picture that I have presented to you, there was agreement on various aspects of strengthening multilateralism, on promoting food and energy security, on climate change, climate action, ensuring biodiversity, on gender issues, on global health, on counter terrorism, on new emerging technologies, counter narcotics, how do we go about development cooperation.

So there are, you know, I would say, I don't want to put a percentage on it because that's not a fair way of depicting, you know, a collection of issues, but do appreciate that on the bulk of the issues, which concern especially the global South, the developing countries, there was a considerable meeting of minds and a considerable meeting of minds which has been captured by the outcome document.

Now the question, you know, why was, you know, did we fall short of expectations, why is it called what it is? If we had a perfect meeting of minds on all issues and captured it fully, then obviously, it would have been a collective statement, but there were issues and I think the issues, I would say, very frankly, concerned the Ukraine conflict on which there were divergences. So on the bulk of the issues, we were able to get an outcome document. There was a chair summary because there were differences on the Ukraine issue, which we could not reconcile between various parties who held differing positions.

Now is it, you know, is the conflict impacting the global South? Of course, it is. I mean, it's not something new. In fact, we, India has been saying this very strongly for pretty much close to a year that, you know, this is affecting... In fact, today in my own session, I actually used the word saying for much of the global South, this is a make or break issue, that the cost of fuel, the cost of food, the cost of fertilizer, the availability of fertilizer, which means next year's food, these are all extremely pressing issues. And if you see some of the countries who were already struggling with debt, who were already impacted by the pandemic, for them, this conflict, the knock on effects of this conflict coming on top of that has been really, I mean, damaging is a very, very mild word.

So it is a matter of very, very deep concern for us, which is why we have kept the focus in this meeting very much on the concerns of the global South. We feel these are the most vulnerable countries. You know, it's not realistic, it's not credible to talk about the future of the global economy and the multilateral order if you are not able to really address and focus on the issues of those who are most in need. So that's been broadly the approach.

So just to sum up, I would say in terms of the outcome document, which we will be putting out very, very shortly, you will see that, you know, the bulk there is, you know, almost, I would say, what 95% in terms of paragraph agreement, and it is just on two paragraphs that we were not able to get everybody on the same page or same para as you might call it.

On the China meeting, I met Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the conference this afternoon. It's our first meeting after he took over as Foreign Minister. So we spent, I don't know, maybe about 45 minutes talking to each other and the bulk of our conversation understandably was about the current state of our relationship, which many of you have heard me describe as abnormal, and I think those were among the adjectives that I used in that meeting. We have, you know, there are real problems in that relationship that need to be looked at, that need to be discussed very openly and candidly between us. That's what we sought to do today.

We also had a brief discussion on what was happening in the G20 framework, but the thrust of the meeting was really on our bilateral relationship and the challenges in the bilateral relationship, especially that of peace and tranquility in the border areas.

Mujib Mashal: Dr. Jaishankar, Mujib Mashal from The New York Times. Although the statement may have fallen short as you said because of divergent opinions, in the context of the role that India could play to bring the sides together on the Ukraine war, there are reports that Secretary Blinken and Sergey Lavrov may have met on the sidelines of G20. Are these the kind of positive efforts that did happen and India facilitate conversations like that to bridge the gap? Would you confirm that?

Akhilesh Suman: Sir, I'm Akhilesh Suman from Sansad TV. You told about global skill mapping and related issue. What do you mean by that? And how it was discussed? And what is the outcome on this?

Speaker 1: Good afternoon. I'm (inaudible) from Central News Agency of Taiwan. As most countries are focusing on Russia-Ukraine conflict, Taiwan Strait is also another flash point in this region. So is the Taiwan Strait issue discussed during the meeting? And is the G20 ministers or at least the Quad ministers taking steps to prevent the tensions from escalating? Thank you.

Neeraj: Sir, Neeraj hun News 18 India se. Hamara sawaal ye hai ki abhi do baithike hui G20 Vitta Mantriyo ki aur videsh mantriyon ki baithak mein koi joint statement nahi aa paya. Bali ghoshana patra me Bharat ke Bhoomika, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ke shabdon ko istemal kiya gaya, aur Bharat ki koshish se woh ho saka tha ki Bali Declaration jaari ho saka. Ab aane waale mahinon mein kya koshish hogi ki summit mein ek joint declaration aa sake, sabhi logon ke bheech Ukraine masale par sehmati ban sake? (Question in Hindi: Approximate Translation) My question is, we recently had two meetings of G20 - of Finance Ministers and External Affairs Ministers, but there was no joint statement issued. Prime Minister's words have been used in the Bali Declaration, and it is indeed that as a result of India's efforts, the Bali Declaration could been issued. So in coming months, what efforts will be made to produce a joint declaration, and to bring about consensus between all on the Ukraine issue?

Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister: Yeah. Thank you. You know, look, I wouldn't put it the way you put it that the statement fell short. I mean, there are, in diplomacy occasions when you are able to get 20 countries to agree on everything, there are occasions when you don't. So for me the primary objective of this meeting and of our presidency was really to highlight what were the key problems facing the global economy, especially the problems faced by the more vulnerable economies of the world.

Now if you, as I said, you know, and when you look at the outcome document, you will see this for yourself. The bulk of the issues which are concerning developing countries, I think they were very satisfactorily addressed. I mean, it's not like we can produce, give instantaneous solutions, but I think the thinking, the policy prescriptions, the commitments, the mindset were all absolutely in the right direction.

So, yes, you know, on one particular issue because of very polarized views of some countries, we were not able to bridge it on this particular occasion, whereas as our colleague pointed out from there, we were able to do that with, you know, a number of us were able to do that collectively in Bali, but obviously, the Bali situation today, for whatever reason, some countries feel cannot be extrapolated.

So, I would urge you really to look on the fact that substantively, substantively on the key development issues - issues of debt, issues of finance, issues of food, issues of fuel, issues of health, issues of climate, in fact, this meeting was able to get everybody around the table and as I said, you know, this is no easy task given the state of polarization in the world.

On your question about global skills mapping. Essentially today, there is a demand, there is a growing demand in the developed world for skills and talents. There is a growing availability, but they are not necessarily in the developed world. Much of that availability is in the developing world. So how do you match the demand and supply for the benefit of the global economy? That is the really crucial issue.

For a country like India which has significant human resources and which fortunately now has a government which pays attention to the development of those human resources which actually focuses on skills and talent and innovation and education, this is an opportunity for us. So, especially in the last nine years, we have also been looking at what are called mobility and migration partnership, which allow for legal mobility, which ensure that talent and skills which go out get the same treatment in, you know, those particular geographies as their own citizens and which ensure that, you know, all of this is legal and free of any, you know, sort of illegal activities.

Now, it's not just India. I'm citing India because we are among the countries which are, you know, very active in this, but there are other countries as well. So this is widely recognized. In fact, in today's intervention, I'm not, you know, I think the etiquette is that you don't specifically say what, you know, individual ministers said. But I can tell you that some of the relevant international organizations and some of the other ministers, they spoke at some length about the importance of how do you ensure, you know, smooth mobility, how do you ensure protected mobility, legal mobility, because this is today one of the big issues before the international economy.

On the Taiwan Strait's issue, I think the answer is very simple. No, the matter was not discussed today.

Jo aap ka jo sawaal hai ki Bali mein hum log jo hai us samay, maane hamare kaaran hi nahi, hum sab milke hamara yogdaan to tha zaroor usme, ki hum log us samay waha sehamati bana paye. Ab kya hua hai ki Bali ke baad abhi jo hai duniya main kaafi kuch ghatanaye hui hai. Ab jo jo G20 ke sadasya hai, jo is mudde ke saath jo jude hue hai, unke is mamale mein alag alag vichar hai. Aur hum jo hai is baar unke vichar, mane unke beech mein itna gap tha ki hum logon ne prayas to kiya par prayas ke bavajooth hum jo hai is samay sehamati bana nahi paye. To aap dekhenge ki jaise humne Bangalore mein kiya tha vaisehi jo Bali mein jo tai hua hai, usiko humne dohraya hai. Aur hamari jo soch hai ki G20 ke zyada sadasya jo hai woh abhi bhi Bali ke jo jo outcome jo they, uske saath woh jude hue hai. (Answered in Hindi: Approximate Translation) Regarding your question about the Bali Declaration, it's not just because of India's efforts, of course our contribution was there, but also with the efforts of others, we were able to come to an agreement. Now after the Bali Declaration, lot of things have happened in the world. G20 members who are associated with this issue now have different opinions about it. Positions are so far apart that despite our efforts, agreement has not been reached yet. We have repeated what was agreed in Bali, like we did in Bengaluru. It is our thinking that most of the G20 members are still aligned with the outcome of the Bali Declaration.

So, essentially he asked me saying, you know, he asked me saying that why were you not able to carry forward what happened in Bali? And I explained that, you know, given the state of polarization, given presumably developments which have happened since then, we found that positions were very far apart, and we tried very hard. We were not the only country who tried. You know, the G20 works very, very collectively, but we were not able to bridge the gap.

But you know, I want to conclude by highlighting one very important point. In the past for quite a few years now, G20 Foreign Ministers have met. This is the first time that the G20 Foreign Ministers have produced an outcome document. The outcome document, I think, reflects consensus and cooperation and collaboration on a very vast number of issues, issues that are particularly important today for the international community, for the global South. So, very frankly, I think it's a good day's work that we have done, and I'm very happy to share it with you. Thank you.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you very much, sir. Thank you also Foreign Secretary sir, and sous-Sherpa, Abhay. Thank you all for joining us today. Good evening.