By hosting the two-day (9-10 September) G20 Summit in New Delhi, India finds itself jubilant. The summit declared personifying the theme, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family). That is, the collective well-being is the global well-being.
On the first day, India was successful in seeking 100 per cent consensus from the participants on the declaration called the New Delhi Declaration. China and Russia could not attend the summit owing to certain reasons. Nevertheless, the constellation of countries attending the summit graced by the presence of the United States (US) filled up the deficiency and raised the stature of India.
Though the Declaration runs into 83 paragraphs, the central idea is to promote global economic cooperation through multilateralism. To express the vision, the preamble emphasizes envisaging a shared prosperous future: “We meet at a defining moment in history where the decisions we make now will determine the future of our people and our planet. It is with the philosophy of living in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem that we commit to concrete actions to address global challenges.” With that, the declaration marks the current age as the golden age of human-centric globalization.
It was the 18th G20 Summit, the Presidency of which was rested with India. The same must have raised the stature of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi domestically, regionally and globally. On 23 August, Modi celebrated the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon. Certainly, India used its best scientific minds (both men and women) to achieve the feat.
The Declaration oozed several messages. Four of them are important to consider for the world’s developing countries like Pakistan. The first message is that institute and promote multilateralism. Embedded in this formula lies the success story of today’s India, which forged economic alliances with both developing and developed countries alike. India did not close its economy to conserve local production by adopting a protectionist policy. Instead, India relied on give-and-take, what is called trade, to offer a win-win situation to both trading partners. This point remained one of the main reasons for the expansion of India’s economy to qualify for inclusion as one of the world’s top 19 big economies, other than the European Union (EU). In this summit, the African Union also joined as the 21st member to embolden the club.
In this regard, Pakistan has to review its definition of multilateralism, which presently relies on the exclusion of countries to deal with and overwhelmingly rests on seeking loans to run the economy. Unimpeded hyperinflation and staggering external debt are the hallmarks of Pakistan’s economy, which reeled under the threat of collapse until rescued mainly by China through rolled-over loans recently. Unfortunately, Pakistan is still finding it hard to lessen its expenditures compared to its earnings.
The world puts a premium on a country’s economic worth and not on its geo-political vantage position
Pakistan is overlooking the fact that the age of seeking trade quotas from the EU or the US to earn foreign exchange is fast running out of fuel. Global constraints such as the war between Russia and Ukraine are wearing away the financial leeway of the developed rich countries. Consequently, the space for offering trade quotas to permit the dumping of low-quality goods in host countries at the cost of the health of local industry is shrinking fast. At the summit, both the EU and the US on which Pakistan relies heavily for its financial sustenance rubbed shoulders with India. They shared the vision of India.
The second message is that adopt a human-centric development approach. The declaration pressed on this point to represent the Global South which is more populated than the Global North. The declaration asked the Global North to address issues such as climate change and debt restructuring affecting the Global South. A few months ago, Pakistan experienced floods which drowned its South rendering agriculture unproductive and life impossible. Pakistan went out to seek international aid to recover land and rehabilitate people. In fact, the declaration raised the concerns of Pakistan as well. That is, when the Global North uses its war machines recklessly, the generated heat turns the global climate anti-human and anti-vegetation in the Global South. Hence, development should be human-centric, thereby meaning that over-populated countries of the Global South earnestly demand rational decisions of the Global North. Pakistan lacks the clout to be heard independently. Owing to economic insufficiency, Pakistan seems to have been surviving in international isolation.
The third message is that India reset the G20 agenda for the development of the global economy. India claims that it has left its footprints on G20 through the declaration, which demands the promotion of sustainable development of the Global South. This point also means the demand for more investment from the Global North to the Global South. The strength of India lies in the advancement in artificial intelligence and English-speaking science-oriented skilled manpower. The same factors have made India poised for an economic take off. As per the calculations of the International Monetary Fund, India will be the fourth-largest economy in 2025. Pakistan’s economic rise is still on the horizon. The Pakistanis have generally developed expertise in investing in real estate and immovable properties, both locally and abroad, besides buying the immigration of developed countries.
The fourth message is that the world puts a premium on a country’s economic worth and not on its geo-political vantage position. Against this background, Bangladesh was invited to attend the summit as a guest invitee thereby indicating the potential this country had to expand its economy to join the club one day. Contrarily, Pakistan evaded the radar of the G20. Pakistan is fraught with political instability which is propping up its economic crisis incessantly. The size of Pakistan’s economy is too small to be considered for joining G20. Further, Pakistan even lacks prospects for expanding its economy to be a guest invitee. Before Pakistan could think economically, it was using its best minds to continue experimenting with its future. Certainly, God will rescue Pakistan.
The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.