The prospects of a global economic recovery remain dim amid supply chain disruptions, prolonged debt crisis and pressures on energy, food and fertiliser security, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday while calling for a united global approach to deal with the challenges.
In an address at the G20 Development Ministers’ conclave, he also said that India has put forward an ambitious seven-year action plan for accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that presented an integrated and inclusive roadmap for G20 actions.
The roadmap focuses on digital public infrastructure and fostering data for development, investing in women-led development and energy transition to protect the planet.
“The world today faces unprecedented and multiple crises—from the pandemic to the disruptions in supply chains, from the impact of conflict to climate events, our era is becoming more volatile and uncertain by the day,” Jaishankar said.
“Added to this is the stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and shrinking fiscal space for many nations. As always in such times, the weak and vulnerable bear the brunt,” he said.
The external affairs minister said progress towards the SDGs was already falling short before the COVID-19 pandemic and that it has further been exacerbated.
In 2015, the UN firmed up a set of ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ that were focused on ending poverty around the world, protecting the planet and ensuring welfare and prosperity for everyone.
“Prospects of a global economic recovery remain dim amid supply chain disruptions, prolonged debt crisis and pressures on energy, food and fertiliser security,” he said.
Jaishankar said the development ministerial meeting of the G20 is an opportunity for “us to demonstrate solidarity on these development issues.”
“The decisions we make today have the potential to contribute to an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future,” he said.
The external affairs minister noted that climate change continues unabated with a “disproportionate impact” on the least developed countries and small island developing states.
“The SDG agenda is a landmark not only in its universality in that it applies to all the countries, but also in its integrity in that it can only be successful as a comprehensive agenda,” he said.
“Unfortunately, since its adoption in 2015, not only have we seen the political momentum wither, but we also witnessed fragmentation in international priorities where some goals are deemed more important than others. Such cherry-picking is not in our collective interests,” he said.
Jaishankar said India has put forward an ambitious seven-year action plan for accelerating progress on SDGs.
“As the world struggles with multiple inter-linked crises that have emerged, we have witnessed a painful illustration of that very inter-linked nature of the sustainable development goals,” he said.
“It is in this context that India has put forward an ambitious seven-year action plan for accelerating progress on SDGs which presented a coordinated, integrated and inclusive roadmap for G20 actions,” the minister added.
Jaishankar said the action plan not only galvanises a strong commitment to the G20 agenda, but also puts forward transformative action on the three core agendas.
The first area, he explained, is bold decisive actions on fostering data for development and digital public infrastructure which are needed around the world to jump-start innovation at the grassroots level.
The second area is investing in women-led development and the third is securing “globally just” transitions that will help the future survival of the planet.
India is hosting the conclave of development ministers of the G20 member nations from June 11-13 in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping.
It is expected to focus on disruptions in global supply chains, food and energy security challenges and impacts of climate change among other issues.
The G20 development ministers’ conclave follows the Voice of the Global South Summit that was hosted by India in January, and the decisions taken at the Varanasi meet will also contribute to the UN summit on SDGs in September.
