Russia-Ukraine shadow on G20

The war has cleaved the group, stalling much of the preparatory work on more substantive issues

- SUBHOMOY BHATTACHARJEE

The controversy involving India hosting the G20 summit in Kashmir in 2023 is one of the issues deflecting attention from the critical importance of the meet scheduled for November in Bali. This one will take place in the middle of the worst supply shock the world has faced in decades, a climate crisis and the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. Added to that, the Russia-Ukraine war is threatening the institution as it has never done since it was formed 23 years ago in 1999.

The G20 delivers heft because it is the only forum where the heads of state of these countries plus the heads of all multilateral organisations sit across each other physically, for 48 hours, in some part of the earth. The 19 member-nations, plus the European Union (EU), account for up to 80 per cent of the world's economic output, two-thirds of the global population and three-quarters of international trade.

That is why the difficulties that Indonesia as the president is facing this year, and India could face next year as the next president, are significant. "The G20 has a global profile, but it is true that in the wake of the Ukraine crisis its role will be constrained," said Shyam Saran, former Indian foreign secretary and the erstwhile chairman of the National Security Advisory Board.

What the G20 decides matters to the world. In the Italian presidency last year, the G20 agreed to put a floor under corporation tax rates of 15 per cent. Since then, multinational companies with a turnover of $100 billion or more have begun to recalculate their tax liabilities, globally. The G20 will also give directions for setting standards, such as telecom, data interoperability, financial technology and so on.