Manipal Global Education Chairman Mohandas Pai noted that the United States has recognized that India’s role in the fight against Chinese hegemony is critical due to India’s economic growth, population and digital advances, among others.

Pai, the former finance chief of Infosys, said: “India is a leader in the digital world, we are in the midst of a digital revolution. India is one of the three major digital powers of the world.” He further pointed out that democracy at the global level cannot flourish without India and one must accept that India is a leader in the decolonized world.

Pai made this statement while speaking exclusively to Moneycontrol about India and the US speaking with one voice at the G20 summit. He also praised US President Joe Biden for understanding India’s potential at the global level.

G20 Leaders Statement a Testimony of Indian Leadership:

Pai noted that achieving a common consensus among all G20 countries on the leaders’ statement was a testament to India’s leadership. Hailing the Declaration as a remarkable achievement, he highlighted how India managed to achieve consensus from world leaders across 83 paragraphs of the Declaration on many key issues.

According to Pai, India played a key role in helping the African Union gain a seat in the G20. He said: “For the first time the G20 has become truly global. Almost 1.5 billion people have now joined the G20. India has demonstrated a very different model by working with Africa.”

India-Middle East Connectivity Corridor:

Pai appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy for bringing India closer to the Middle East. He said: “India and Saudi Arabia work closely together and India’s relations with the UAE are legendary. Mohammad Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is breaking away from American rule.”

He also noted that India managed to get US support for the project. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Connectivity Corridor for economic integration between India, the Middle East and Europe. At the G20 summit, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates and others unveiled plans to connect data, trains, ports, energy networks and hydrogen pipelines between the three regions.

Statement on the Ukraine War:

Pai stressed that in the G20 leaders’ statement, India reached consensus on parts of the Ukraine war without taking sides or pointing fingers. He said: “India has taken the middle path without taking sides. This is the right path for global leaders.”

He stressed that one cannot ignore the fact that China is a large economy with significant development and therefore India has done the right thing by neither criticizing it nor pointing fingers at it.

UPI according to G20:

Talking about what great benefits the United Payment Interface (UPI) will bring to the entire world, Pai pointed out that UPI will enable countries outside India to reduce them.

He said: “UPI will enable every country to have sovereignty over digital payment systems. We will see the only true global asset in financial infrastructure.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi announced that G20 members had reached consensus on a joint statement. He said: “I received good news. Thanks to the hard work of our team, a consensus was reached on the G20 Summit Declaration in New Delhi.”