NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a renewed push for expansion of the UN Security Council and reforms in global institutions to reflect world's "new realities", as the G20 summit concluded here with world leaders lauding India's presidency for ensuring several tangible outcomes.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Marking the ceremonial transfer of the rotational G20 presidency, Prime Minister Modi handed over the gavel to Brazilian President Luiz In cio Lula da Silva, who hailed India for giving voice to topics of interests of emerging economies. Lula also said the UN Security Council needs new developing countries as permanent and non-permanent members to regain political strength and greater representation for emerging countries at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In his concluding remarks at the final session of the two-day G20 summit, the prime minister also proposed a virtual session of the G20 around the end of November to take stock of the suggestions and decisions made by the leaders of the major developed and developing countries here.
"With this (proposal), I declare the G20 summit as closed," Modi said.
Delhi Declaration a ‘convergent consensus’
Official sources, meanwhile, said the text relating to Russia-Ukraine conflict in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration is a "convergent consensus" rather than a "divisive consensus" and it could show a path to a resolution of the crisis, a day after a breakthrough on the contentious issue was achieved to help the G20 leaders come out with a 37-page Declaration marking a huge diplomatic win for India.
India achieved '100 per cent' consensus on developmental and geo-political issues in the Declaration, which avoided mentioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and made a general call to all states to follow the principle of respecting each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Addressing the 'One Future' session at the summit, Modi said it is necessary the global bodies should reflect the "new realities" to lead the world towards a better future.
"In order to take the world towards a better future, it is necessary that the global systems are according to the present realities. Today, the 'United Nations Security Council' is also an example of this. When the UN was established, the world was completely different from what it is today. At that time there were 51 founding members in the UN. Today the number of countries included in the UN is around 200," Modi said.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]"Despite this, the number of permanent members in the UNSC remains the same. The world has since changed a lot in every aspect. Be it transport, communication, health and education, every sector has been transformed. These new realities should reflect in our new global structure."
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The UNSC has five permanent members--the US, China, France, Britain and Russia.
Pitching for reforms, Modi said this was why a historic initiative was made on Saturday by granting the 55-nation African Union permanent membership of the G20.
The next summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in November 2024.
G20 can still drive solutions, says Biden
US President Joe Biden said the New Delhi summit has proven that the grouping can still drive solutions to its most pressing issues.
He made the remarks in a post on X as he left for Vietnam after he and several other G20 leaders paid homage at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat in the morning.
"At a moment when the global economy is suffering from the overlapping shocks of the climate crisis, fragility, and conflict, this year's Summit proved that the G20 can still drive solutions to our most pressing issues," Biden said.
Hailing Modi, President Biden was quoted as saying, "The African Union is a critical partner. You (Modi) are bringing us together, keeping us together, reminding us that we have the capacity to tackle challenges together."