India's G20 focus on inclusivity helped earn respect of other nations: Deloitte South Asia CEO

New Delhi: The G20 presidency has helped India earn the respect of other countries by focusing on inclusivity, digital infrastructure, and efforts to bring in the African Union within the fold of the grouping, said Deloitte South Asia CEO Romal Shetty.

In an interview with PTI, Shetty said the decision of the Indian government to hold G20 meetings in several cities has also helped in trade, tourism, besides promoting infrastructure development.

With regard to the proposal to bring the African Union in the G20 fold, he said Africa is a continent of 1 billion people and its inclusion in G20 will enhance trade opportunities with Asia and rest of the world.

"India has focussed a lot on inclusivity. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) says that nobody should be left behind. Every voice should be heard. One of the things India has done is to bring in Africa or try to bring in Africa in G20.

"Also look at it from trade perspective. My view is if you look at Africa, a billion people continent. If you look at South Asia, a two billion people continent. You are actually bringing people together. You can have trade with 3 billion people. Today the trade levels are fairly low," Shetty said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview to PTI last week had said: "Africa is a top priority for us even within the G20. One of the first things we did during our G20 presidency was to hold the Voice of the Global South summit, which had enthusiastic participation from Africa. We believe that no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices".

Shetty said India has taken up the issues relating to climate change, trade flows, digital public infrastructure, among others.

"We clearly see India taking on certain role in building framework.... It is not about one country, it is about understanding what everyone wants. In that sense, India is positioned well in the G20 and has earned the respect of other countries," Shetty said.

Deloitte has worked as a knowledge partner in various task forces under G20 India presidency. The task forces include on inclusive Global Value Chains (GVCs) for resilient global trade and investment; energy, climate change & resource efficiency.

Besides, the task force report on startup suggested creation of a global definition framework for startups across G20 nations, and encourage multilateral organizations, research organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to adopt a definition framework for consistency in understanding and evaluating startup ecosystems.