‘Success of G20 is success of India-US partnership’: Jaishankar

Washington DC [US]: Hailing India’s success in hosting the G20 summit this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India’s approach to the international summit was a success of the India-US partnership.

The Indian diplomat made these remarks in Washington on Saturday, while addressing the Indian diaspora at the ‘Colours of Friendship’ event at India House in Washington, DC.

Jaishankar emphasised the “support and understanding” India received from the United States to successfully host the G20 Summit.

Hundreds of diaspora members gathered at the official residence of India’s envoy to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu to welcome Jaishankar at the event.

Giving credit to the US, Jaishankar at the event said, “The support and the understanding that we got from the United States to make a successful G20, I think that is something I would certainly like to recognise in public, in Washington. So it may have been our (Indian) success in a literal way. But I think, to me, the success of the G20 was also a success of the India-US partnership.”

One of the key aims of India’s presidency at the G20 was ‘bringing the world together’, which was underscored throughout Minister Jaishankar’s US visit.

Just days away from Gandhi Jayanti, Jaishankar paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the diaspora event that was hosted by the Indian Ambassador to the US, Tarnajit Singh Sandhu.

EAM Jaishankar also made several remarks about the legacy of Gandhi. Referring to India’s G20 presidency, the EAM stated that India’s G20 presidency revolved around the message of Mahatma Gandhi, which focuses on doing the right thing and leaving no one behind.

“We are approaching Gandhi Jayanti; I would like to leave you a thought. To say he (Mahatma Gandhi) was an extraordinary man would be the understatement of this century.

He said so many things so tellingly… The message at the end of the day was about doing the right thing, about doing the decent thing, and about leaving no one behind. Gandhi Ji’s message is very complicated, but its essence is actually very, very simple,” Jaishankar said.

He added, “When we took up the G20 presidency, the responsibility was, in many ways, at the heart of our thinking… What we tried to do in the G20, the underlying thinking, reflected what we are trying to do in India, what I think many Americans are trying to do in America, and what we in India and America should be doing with the world, which is to leave no one behind.”

Expert commentators are of the view that Washington is finally learning the language of the so-called Global South, with India as its principal guide.
Fellow G20 nations also hailed India’s success in reaching an agreement on a joint communique that remained in doubt just days before world leaders gathered in New Delhi for their most significant annual diplomatic event.

Apart from finding consensus on Russia’s war in Ukraine, the most difficult issue, they also elevated the African Union as a full G20 member and took action on issues like climate change and debt sustainability, which are priorities of emerging markets.

“What we tried to do in the G20, which was to get countries of the global south together, the countries facing problems, 125 of them, and ask them, Tell us what your problems are, because you folks are not going to be on the table where the G20 meets,” Jaishankar told ten members of the diaspora.

“We believe, as I said, it’s the right thing; it is the decent thing that your problems become the focus of the G20. So the G20 is successful not because we found the right formulations on a matter as complicated as the conflict in Ukraine.

The G20 is successful because we were able to shine the spotlight on the fact that resources for education,  health, development, and infrastructure are falling behind. We speak about saving the planet, but we’re not,” Jaishankar added.

The India-US partnership at the G20 didn’t stop there. The US separately announced a deal with India, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Middle Eastern countries to develop an ambitious rail and maritime network across the region.

Biden hailed it as a “game-changing regional investment,” cementing the deal with a three-way handshake that included Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Several senior officials of the Biden administration, including US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, President Biden’s domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden, and Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta, were part of the reception.

US lawmakers Shri Thanedar and Rick McCormick, Democrat and Republican, were also present at the event.

Jaishankar is on a visit to the US from September 22–30. He addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He also held meetings with several top US officials during his visit.