G20 success makes PM Modi “clear winner”: Jim O’ Neill

The success of the summit makes Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “clear winner” in this season of summitry with Beijing, according to British economist Jim O’Neill, who is famous for coining the term BRICS. The G20 is currently the only body that can provide solutions to global problems, according to Project Syndicate.

O’Neill noted in his article for Project Syndicate that neither the BRICS nor the G7 have the authority nor the capability to address global issues.

The G20 is the only organisation with the authority and breadth to provide truly global answers to global challenges, he continued, and the joint declaration that resulted from the summit that took place in New Delhi last week provided further evidence of this.

Despite obvious challenges – such as the considerable differences in how member states operate – they managed to reassert the G20’s relevance after a lengthy period in which its role had been called into question, he added.

“Alternative groupings such as the G7 and the new expanded BRICS look like sideshows in comparison,” O’ Neill stated.

He also applauded the role of India and the US in pushing through the final communique.

“The New Delhi Declaration could be the first step in a stronger concerted effort to address global issues like climate change, the need for a revamped World Bank, infectious disease control, economic stability, the war in Ukraine, and other matters. Though this agenda was agreed in the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian and Chinese representatives who did attend would not have signed on to anything without having cleared it with their respective governments,” he stated in Project Syndicate.

The article went on to say that the significance of the most recent BRICS summit was diminished by the Chinese President’s absence from the G20.

As things stand, PM Modi is the undisputed victor of this summitry season thanks to the success of the G20 summit. He said in the article, “Perceptions count, and right now he seems more like a visionary statesman than Xi does.
O’Neill added that the G20 made a slight but significant advancement when the African Union joined, transforming it into the G21.

This development grants PM Modi a resounding diplomatic triumph, enhancing his standing as a defender of the Global South. It also emphasises the BRICS’ own expansion, which includes Egypt and Ethiopia, as being haphazard.

The author also differed on the perception that “G7 is still a highly effective body compared to the G20”, as evidenced by the solidarity it has shown on issues like Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The G20 communique’s language on the war, in his opinion, was strong enough to send a “clear message” to anyone else who would want to transgress internationally recognised borders, even though it did not reach the degree that Ukraine’s leaders would have preferred.

Additionally, it tells President Putin that he shouldn’t count on even token support from some of his alleged BRICS allies. Of course, the declaration does not prevent Western nations or individual leaders from strongly denouncing the war, according to O’Neill.

The author went on to say that NATO, not the G7, is the group whose voice genuinely matters when it comes to issues like the global economy, climate change, and Ukraine.

“As much as G7 leaders would like to think that they are still a major influence in global affairs, the reality suggests otherwise. The big takeaway from the New Delhi summit is that you cannot possibly deal with big global challenges unless you include the major emerging powers,” he added.

According to the author’s article at Project Syndicate, regarding the argument that the G20 is too big to be effective, “I observed that if eurozone member states really wanted to demonstrate their belief in the permanence of their joint project, they would send just one delegate to international gatherings like the G20, rather than maintaining their individual representatives.”

That reduced the size of the organisation and established a strong precedent. A global-governance organisation that is truly suited for purpose would result if other blocs, including the BRICS, did the same, he noted.

(With agency inputs)