Only the naive expect that a gathering of government leaders will produce groundbreaking solutions to the world’s problems every time it meets. It takes a crisis like the global financial crisis to transform ponderous thinking into hasty, coordinated action, such as: Such as the provision of liquidity, the provision of swap lines for emergency access to foreign currencies, the introduction of increased capital adequacy norms for banks and more-absorption of capital buffers for global systemically important financial institutions, accompanied by regular stress tests by banking regulators.

The world is not facing such a crisis. What it faces is a different, geopolitical crisis, of which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is one facet, while the intensification of America’s rivalry with China for global hegemony is another. In the face of this crisis, many expected that the New Delhi summit would not be able to come up with a joint statement from the leaders. It is indeed a small triumph that in protracted negotiations, with the help of the EU, Brazil and Indonesia, Indian diplomats managed to find a wording on Ukraine that everyone could agree to, including representatives of Russia and China, whose heads of state stayed away to facilitate the Delhi Declaration, thus averting the confusion created after the previous G20 Bali Summit in 2022, when the two countries later backed away from the agreed lines, making this joint declaration burdensome.

Controversial opinions on Ukraine were avoided by the statement’s tactic of locating it in references to UN resolutions condemning the invasion of Russia and allowing leaders to restate their national positions on the issue, for the benefit of all To take into account shades of opinion on this topic.

Until the last moment, there were fears that the language on Ukraine would make a joint statement impossible, which would have been a first in the history of the G20 and raised doubts about its future. But by ensuring that the summit produced a declaration against all odds, New Delhi ensured its survival and the rotating presidency was duly handed over to Brazil.

India has simultaneously courted countries in Africa, lured by Chinese overtures backed with truckloads of money, unfortunately provided in the form of loans rather than grants, but wary nonetheless. These loans have now led many countries in Africa and elsewhere into a debt trap. The Delhi Declaration thus increases pressure on China to restructure, if not cancel, developing country debt under the common framework outlined at a previous G20 summit. China is hesitant on this issue.

Diplomatically, this has a double benefit: we stand up for indebted countries and draw attention to China’s inaction on this front. The formal acceptance of the African Union as a member of the G20 under Indian auspices underscores India’s commitment to the Global South within the framework of the G20, where European Union support has proved of great help.

The Declaration maintains the pressure on the global community – to the extent that joint declarations by multilateral platforms can – to address the collective risk to human life posed by accelerating climate change. Climate technology, finance and resilient infrastructure find their place even if carbon removal does not. However, a biofuel initiative must be mitigated by the need to keep subsidized fertilizers and water out of its reach to prevent biofuels from using more energy than they provide.

The declaration’s focus on digital public infrastructure and renewable energy, accompanied by green hydrogen as a solution to the problem of renewable energy intermittivity, lays the groundwork for increasing collective global well-being, with Indian companies potentially playing a leading role in these areas. The focus on small modular reactors is also welcome, as nuclear power is likely to play a key role in increasing the share of zero-carbon power generation.

The Delhi Declaration calls for coordinated regulation of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. This is crucial, even as US-China rivalry poses potential roadblocks to such regulation.

India’s concerns over terror financing and money laundering are also reflected in the statement. It is also to be welcomed that the declaration places emphasis on respect for the human rights of migrants, including illegal migrants, and on taking into account the needs of human diversity.

However, trading is a completely different matter. It is vital that countries seek to heed the G20’s urgings rather than perpetuate them as perpetual regulations, as in the case of the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit’s call to end fossil fuel subsidies, which is also being discussed in the Delhi statement was repeated.