India to work towards building focus on green development pact in G-20

New Delhi: India on Friday vowed to work towards building a consensus among the G-20 nations for a green development pact to facilitate investments in sustainable lifestyle and pitched for larger discussions on "data for development" to bridge the digital divide among various countries.

In a virtual address at a session of the Voice of the Global South Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar flagged unsustainable debt, trade barriers, contracting financial flows and climate pressure as some of the key challenges facing the developing countries.

He also called for working collectively towards a "new globalisation paradigm" and said a more democratic and equitable world can only be built on greater diversification and localisation of capabilities.

Touching upon the knock-on effects of the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said it further complicated the economic situation as the costs and availability of fuel, food and fertilisers has emerged as a major concern for "many of us".

"So too has the disruption in trade and commercial services. However, none of this has got the attention that it deserves in global councils. Where the United Nations is concerned, a frozen 1945-invented mechanism is simply unable to articulate the wider concerns of its membership," he said.

"Some powers have been singularly focused on their own advantage, to the exclusion of the well-being of the international community. And the G-20, reflecting the composition of its membership, has had its own particular focus. This is what we are seeking to change," he added.

The external affairs minister said India, during its G-20 presidency, would commit to drive a consensus on a Green Development Pact of the G-20 leaders, noting that it will be a "blueprint of strong actions" for the next decade powering green development all over the world.

"This will be through investments in sustainable lifestyle, leveraging green hydrogen for climate action, and accelerating progress on SDGs," he said.

"We would take up discussions on data for development, as countries are at different levels of development and readiness to engage with data-driven innovations," he said.

Jaishankar pressed for international cooperation on data-related capacities, innovations, and technologies especially for the Global South, to create opportunities for all.

"To this end we aim to focus on bridging the digital divide amongst countries through a multi-stakeholder approach," Jaishankar said.

"We would strengthen our efforts to share resources, development templates, our unique experiences and knowledge base with each other and exhibit strong solidarity as partners from the Global South," he said.

Jaishankar said the developing countries should work collectively towards a new globalisation paradigm which will be for the collective well-being of humankind, with a critical focus on vulnerable populations.

"We would work towards bringing down walls that young and talented people in our countries face in accessing opportunities around the world," he noted, listing priorities for India's G-20 presidency.

"We would make collective efforts to address the current challenges to food and energy security and ensure that humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities are served without delay," he said.