Recently, the G20 Summit 2025 was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking the first time that a G20 Summit has ever been hosted by an African nation.

Key Highlights of G20 Summit 2025

The Leaders’ Declaration (adopted early, signaling consensus) reflected a strong mandate for inclusive, sustainable, and rules-based multilateralism.

• Geopolitical & Institutional Outcomes:
  • Africa-Centric Mandate: The summit provided a powerful platform for articulating African developmental aspirations, strengthening South-South Cooperation, and promoting the core philosophy of Ubuntu (“I am because we are”).
  • Multilateralism & Stability: Reaffirmation of commitment to a rules-based order, coupled with an unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and concerns over geopolitical fragmentation.
  • Global Governance Reform: Strong call for the transformative reform of global institutions, particularly the UN Security Council (UNSC), to ensure equitable representation for regions like Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
• Climate, Energy, and Finance:
  • Climate Ambition: Commitment to accelerate the clean energy transition by pledging to triple global renewable energy capacity and double the annual rate of energy-efficiency improvements.
  • Adaptation & Resilience: Pledge to achieve universal early warning systems coverage by 2027, recognizing climate adaptation as a critical priority.
  • Debt Sustainability: Prioritization of low-income countries by strengthening global debt sustainability mechanisms and exploring innovative financing tools such as debt-for-development/climate swaps.

• Technology and Inclusivity:
  • Critical Minerals: Recognition of the strategic importance of Critical Minerals for future technologies, with emphasis on equitable value-sharing and supporting local industrialisation in resource-rich nations.
  • Women-Led Development: Explicit commitment to eliminating socio-economic barriers to ensure women’s equal and meaningful participation as agents of change and leaders.

India’s Role at the G20 Johannesburg Summit 2025

The Indian Prime Minister’s participation reinforced India’s role as the “Voice of the Global South” and a bridge-builder, advocating for a human-centric approach to growth and technology.

• Core Policy Philosophy:
  • Integral Humanism: Advocated by the PM, it refers to a holistic development model that seeks to balance progress with the planet by integrating the individual, society, economy, and ecology. 
    • This calls for new development parameters based on equity and sustainability.
  • Technology Paradigm: Proposed shifting the focus of critical technologies (AI, Digital) to be “Human-Centric” and “Open-Source” rather than exclusive or finance-centric, ensuring benefits accrue to the widest population.
• Broader Technology and Future Skills Vision: India’s strategy promoted a fundamental shift in the global approach to technology and labour, ensuring it serves human welfare and prepares the world for future challenges.

• Climate, Food Security, and Disaster Resilience: India’s proposals emphasised accountability from developed nations and sustainable, resilient solutions rooted in traditional wisdom.
  • Climate and Finance Commitments:  Reiterated demand for affordable finance and clean technologies from developed countries.
    • Urged time-bound delivery of historical climate commitments.
  • Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Advocated a proactive, development-first approach to DRR.
    • Highlighted India’s Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as a model.
  • Food Security Roadmap: Emphasised millets (Shree Anna) for global nutrition and climate resilience.
    • G20 Food Roadmap: Encouraged adoption of the Deccan Principles on Food Security as the basis for a unified G20 roadmap.
  • Strengthening the Global South’s Voice: The Indian PM urged expanded Global South representation across global institutions.
    • Built on the historic inclusion of the African Union as a permanent G20 member, reinforcing fairness and inclusivity in global decision-making.

Strategic Bilaterals- Deepening India’s Global Outreach

About G20

• Establishment: The G20 was founded in 1999 following the financial crisis of 1997-98 that impacted the Asian Tigers (East and Southeast Asian countries).
  • Initially, it served as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from major industrialized and developing economies.
• Elevation to Leader’s Level: In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20 was upgraded to include Heads of State or Government.
  • By 2009, it was designated as the “premier forum for international economic cooperation.“
• Membership: The G20 includes 19 countries and the European Union, recently joined by the African Union. 
• • Its members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Non-Binding Nature: The G20 operates as a consultative forum, meaning its decisions are not legally binding, and member countries are not obligated to implement them.
• No Permanent Secretariat: The G20 has no standing secretariat; its functioning is driven by an annually rotating Presidency selected from five regional groups created for rotation purposes.
• Five Regional Groups: The 19 member countries are divided into five groups (max four each); most are regional except Group 1 and Group 2, which mix countries from different regions.
  • Group 1: Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United States
  • Group 2: India, Russia, South Africa, Türkiye
  • Group 3: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico
  • Group 4: France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom
  • Group 5: China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea
  • EU and AU: Not part of any group
• Presidency Rotation: Each year, a country from a different group becomes President; all countries in that group are equally entitled; Presidency prepares the agenda and coordinates responses to global economic issues.
• Troika System: Ensures continuity through the previous, current, and next Presidencies; during South Africa’s term, the Troika comprises Brazil (past), South Africa (current), USA (next).
• G20 Structure (Tracks):
  • Sherpa Track: Focuses on socio-economic issues like climate, health, agriculture, digital economy, and education. Sherpas coordinate negotiations and set the agenda for the summit.
  • Finance Track: Led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, it addresses fiscal and monetary policy, typically meeting alongside World Bank and IMF conferences.

Role and Significance of the G20

• Global Economic Steering & Crisis Management:
  • Macroeconomic Coordination: Serves as the premier forum for aligning global economic policies and regulations, ensuring strong, sustainable, and balanced growth.
  • Crisis Response Authority: Elevated to a Leaders’ Summit in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis, enabling coordinated action that prevented a deeper global recession.
  • Financial Regulation Reform: Key architect of post-crisis reforms such as Basel III, enhancing global financial resilience, regulatory standards, and supervisory cooperation.
  • Economic Powerhouse: The G20 members represent around 85% of the global Gross Domestic Product, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
• Inclusive & Representative Global Governance:
  • Bridging Global North–South Divide: Integrates both advanced economies and major emerging markets, providing a vital bridge between developed and developing worlds.
  • Enhanced Legitimacy: Inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member strengthens representativeness and mainstreams Africa’s developmental priorities.
  • Diverse Representation: Offers a platform for diverse perspectives and solutions, increasing the legitimacy and inclusiveness of global decision-making.
  • Broadening Agenda: Though rooted in finance, the G20 now leads discussions on climate change, sustainable development, global health, food security, digital public goods, and anti-corruption.
• Policy Coordination & Global Goal Setting:
  • SDG Mobilisation: Acts as a political catalyst for financing and accelerating the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Climate Action Leadership: Coordinates collective climate response, focusing on climate finance, renewable expansion, technology transfer, and supporting global agreements like the Paris Agreement.
  • Debt Sustainability: Works to strengthen global debt management and restructuring frameworks, aiding low-income and vulnerable economies.
  • Focus on Global Issues: Through its Finance and Sherpa Tracks, the G20 addresses critical global challenges, fostering international cooperation and long-term economic stability.
• Shaping Global Norms & Standards:
  • Informal Norm-Setter: Even without legally binding authority, G20 commitments influence global norms and major institutions like the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and multilateral development banks.
  • Multi-Track Engagement: Operates via the Finance Track, Sherpa Track, and several Engagement Groups (B20, C20, T20, W20, Y20), incorporating perspectives from business, civil society, academia, women, and youth.
  • Global Governance Hub: Functions as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, shaping the direction of global governance frameworks.

Major G20 Summits & Outcomes

Challenges Facing the G20

• Representation & Legitimacy Deficit: The G20’s exclusive membership, lacking a universal mandate, excludes most UN states, reducing the legitimacy, fairness, and global acceptance of its decisions.
• Transparency, Inclusiveness & Accountability Gaps: With no permanent secretariat, weak consultation, and opaque processes, the G20 shows low institutional memory, inclusiveness, and accountability despite shaping major global policies.
• Limited Policy Effectiveness: Restricted membership and developed-country dominance narrow perspectives, limiting the G20’s capacity to address universal issues like climate change, pandemics, AI governance, and debt crises.
• Divergent Priorities: Conflicting goals of advanced and developing economies on finance, technology, climate, and trade hinder consensus, slowing progress on equity, climate justice, and fair global governance.
• Geopolitical Rivalries: US–China tensions, Russia–West confrontation, and regional conflicts fragment cooperation, while boycotts and leader absences weaken collective action and dilute outcomes.
• Weak Multilateralism & Implementation Gap: Falling Official Development Assistance (ODA), delayed climate finance, and non-binding commitments create large implementation gaps, leaving pledges on debt relief, food security, and digital taxation unfulfilled.

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Way Forward for a More Effective G20

• Regional Consultative Groups (RCGs) for Inclusion: Financial Stability Board–style RCGs across regions enable structured regional dialogue, widen representation, strengthen legitimacy, and integrate non-member priorities into G20 decision-making.
• Formalised Global South Participation: Permanent observers, rotating guest seats, and engagement with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), CARICOM (Caribbean Community), PIF (Pacific Islands Forum), and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) broaden voice and correct representation gaps.
• Stronger Institutional Architecture: A permanent G20 secretariat, strengthened Troika mechanism, and new working groups on climate finance, artificial intelligence, debt relief, and hunger enhance continuity, track commitments, and enable coordinated action.
• Equitable Development & Climate Justice: Binding climate-finance timelines, a G20 Green Development Fund, reformed global debt architecture, and expanded IMF (International Monetary Fund) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) ensure fair resource flows for developing nations.
• Prioritising Hunger & Food Security: Scaling anti-hunger alliances, promoting climate-resilient crops like millets, strengthening nutrition systems, and adopting Deccan Principles enhance global food resilience.
• Human-Centric Technology & AI Governance: Global norms for safe, transparent, accountable AI, regulation of deepfakes and cyber misuse, and promotion of open-source digital public goods ensure equitable, human-aligned technological growth.

Conclusion

The 2025 Summit reinforced the G20’s role in promoting equity, sustainability, and multilateral reform. Its credibility now hinges on implementing commitments, strengthening Global South representation, and advancing a human-centric global governance model.

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