The writer is director, research, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, Mumbai.
India must build the capacity to make its G20 presidency in the future a success
Hosting a successful G20 presidency in 2022 is a welcome challenge. Preparations must begin now. Like other countries, the government will have to work together with its think tanks, businesses and civil society to develop an agenda for 2022
In 2022, India will be host to the G20, or Group of 20 nations, the world’s most influential economic multilateral forum. It is the agenda-setting forum that develops and guides rules of global economic governance. The G20 leaders-level dialogue came into being during the western financial crisis of 2008, when the large developing economies including India and China, helped fund the G8 countries out of the crisis.
The G20 is unique. Here, developing countries can display their political, economic and intellectual leadership on a par with the most powerful countries. The G20’s rotating presidency ensures that no one country dominates the agenda. Instead, the G20 host sets an annual agenda, wielding vast direct and indirect influence on nations’ economies.
Is India ready for this leadership? Does it have a clear global financial agenda? Does the country have the capacity to lead the G20 year intellectually, financially, managerially and administratively? At some levels, India is ready. Indian business and industry is becoming a noteworthy competitor globally. The country’s domestic economy is starting to pick up, thanks to structural economic reforms. The central government is economically stronger, and the states are starting to learn about economic independence, making them more aligned with their global counterparts.
Geopolitically, India is more internationally engaged but less so geoeconomically. Its narrow focus is on the World Bank, IMF, WTO and foreign investment issues. But India has much to contribute on issues like reconfiguration of global financial regulations, design of a new framework for trade in services and the digital economy and establishing better cross-border standards for transparency in financial flows. To make its G20 year a success, India has to address organisational challenges, where the country has an infrastructure, management and intellectual gap.
First, a G20 presidency brings together several global leaders, their attending delegations, and independent experts. Unlike the Olympics and more like Davos, this effort is focused on a small but powerful group which expects good airports, accommodation, conference facilities, and communications infrastructure all year round.
Second, the president of the G20 is tasked with leading and managing the global economic agenda for the year. This is typically undertaken by the finance and foreign ministry and a special appointee as G20 sherpa, which together act as the secretariat to the G20 presidency. In India, the ministries have fine officers with this knowledge, but they are overworked and limited by their short tenures.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario