India praised Africa and the Global South for putting them on the global agenda

New Delhi: Italian Ambassador to India Vincenzo De Luca said, 'After G20 India, the Global South and Africa are center stage.

More than six months on, India's G20 presidency continues to create buzz, with ambassadors from Italy, Indonesia and South Africa praising India's G20 leadership for putting Africa and the Global South on the international agenda.

„After G20 India, the Global South and Africa take center stage,” said Vincenzo de Luca, Ambassador of Italy to India, in a panel discussion to launch a book titled „India's G20 Legacy: Shaping a New World Order”.

Linking India's G20 legacy to Italy's presidency of the G7 group of the world's most developed nations, the Italian ambassador said: „In terms of interactions between the G7 and the G20, the Italian G7 Presidency is going to focus on developing countries. Now in the G7, Africa and the Global South will be integral parts of the agenda in Italy.” Italy will host the G7 summit in Fasano, Apulia, from June 13 to June 15.

Edited by foreign policy expert and author Manish Santhal, “India's G20 Legacy: Building a New World Order” includes original perspectives and insights from practitioners, diplomats and strategists that explain the multifaceted legacy of India's G20 chairmanship.

The foreword of the book was written by Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the then G20 Chief Coordinator of India.

„India's years-long G20 presidency was path-breaking and transformative in countless ways, leaving a lasting legacy, paving the way for shaping an inclusive and human-centered world order,” said Manish Chand, CEO, Center for Global India Insights. Tank.

Indonesian Ambassador to India Ina H. Krishnamurthy praised India's G20 presidency for promoting inclusiveness in the 21-member group. He praised India for taking the lead in getting the African Union as a full member of the G20 and for increasing the inclusiveness of the G20. Secondly, he lauded India for taking the initiative to host two editions of the „Voice of the Global South Summit” which provided a platform to project the interests and aspirations of the Global South on the G20 agenda. “India's G20 Presidency has left a historic mark. You have no idea how happy we were when the G20 New Delhi Declaration was adopted. It was not for relief, it was for pride,” he said.

South Africa, which takes over the G20 presidency after Brazil, commends India for putting the Global South's key concerns on the G20 agenda. “India has left behind a remarkable legacy. The G20 is the only platform that brings together the Global North and the Global South,” said Anil Sooklal, South Africa's High Commissioner-designate to India.

„India has demonstrated that it is possible to have a dialogue between the Global North and the Global South and to discuss key global issues,” said Mr Sooklal, who joined virtually from Johannesburg.

Senior diplomats including Muktesh Pradesh and Lakshmi Puri emphasized the people-centric nature of India's G20 chairmanship and elaborated on how civil society has become an integral part of the G20 process.

„No other country has ever attempted diplomacy at a country level. Diplomacy became part of our everyday lexicon. Even taxi-wallahs, shopkeepers, barbers—everyone became part of a great national effort,” said India's current secretary of external affairs, who oversaw the organization of the New Delhi summit. CPV & OIA) said Muktesh Pratish.

„Prior to Jan Bhagitari, this whole process has never seen the participation of all women actors from the grassroots to the highest policy levels. So this is not just a people's G20, it's a women's G20,” said former UN Assistant Secretary General Lakshmi Puri.

The book's contributors read a veritable who's who of the diplomatic and strategic establishment, and included South Africa's Foreign Minister Dr. GNM Pandor, India's G20 Coordinator Amitabh Kant, Sujan R. Sinai, DG, MBITSA, India's then G20 Coordinator. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Italian Ambassador to India Vincenzo de Luca and Brazilian Ambassador to India Kenneth Felix Hasinski da Nobrega.