2023: India displayed statecraft and influence in leading G20

In a year marked by great geopolitical unrest, India showed its statecraft by forging an ambitious roadmap to address major global challenges with the support of the G20 and by taking a steely stance to increase its strategic heft in the neighbourhood and beyond in response to China's increasingly assertive actions.

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Induction of the 55-nation African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and managing to produce a leaders' declaration overcoming deep divisions over the Ukraine conflict were seen as major milestones of India's year-long presidency of the grouping of the world's 20 big economies in 2023.

It was for the first time that India hosted the annual G20 summit, and New Delhi pulled out all the stops in rolling out a grand welcome to the top leaders of the bloc, including US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin skipped the summit.

Under its year-long G20 presidency that ended on November 30, India hosted over 200 meetings in around 60 cities across the country, focusing on a variety of issues like inclusive growth, digital innovation, climate financing, and equitable global health access, with an aim largely to benefit the Global South or developing countries.

"The 21st century is a time that has the potential to give a new direction to the entire world," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the G20 summit. The G20 New Delhi leaders' declaration comprised about 83 paragraphs and 87 outcomes, covering a wide range of areas for cooperation as well as possible solutions to some of the pressing global challenges, including renewable energy and climate change.