Despite the euphoria over the G20 consensus achieved on the Delhi Declaration, mainly on the language pertaining to the Ukraine conflict, the wordings are a significant climb down from wordings used in the Bali Declaration. The Delhi Declaration refers to “war in Ukraine” and not “war against Ukraine”, in a significant shift in language from the Bali Declaration last year. The Delhi Declaration does not mention Russia anywhere and refers to the Ukraine conflict as “war in Ukraine”, a major climb down from last year’s Bali Declaration which had condemned the “war against Ukraine”. As India and the G20 grouping hailed the adoption of the Delhi Declaration, Ukraine said the outcome document was “nothing to be proud of” and criticised it for not mentioning Russia.
The Delhi Declaration also hints at a climb down by G7 nations and the European Union over language from Bali. The climb down is evident from these passages of the Delhi Declaration which state, “Concerning the war in Ukraine, while recalling the discussion in Bali, we reiterated our national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly and underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in its entirety.” In another watering down from its earlier stand, the Delhi Declaration also acknowledged that the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues although these issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.
Further, the Delhi Declaration welcomed the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 saying that Africa plays an important role in the global economy and it will significantly contribute to addressing the global challenges of our time. In the Delhi Declaration, the G20 leader said: “We welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and strongly believe that inclusion of the African Union into the G20 will significantly contribute to addressing the global challenges of our time.” It also commended the efforts of all G20 members which paved the way for accession of the African Union as a permanent member during India’s Presidency of the G20.
The G20 leaders in the Delhi Declaration reaffirmed their commitment to pursue cooperation towards a globally fair, sustainable, and modern international tax system appropriate to the needs of the 21st century. The declaration said that G20 remains committed to the swift implementation of the two-pillar international tax package. It also said that G20 recognises the need for coordinated efforts towards capacity building to implement the two-pillar international tax package effectively and, in particular, welcome a plan for additional support and technical assistance for developing countries. Finally, negotiators were able to agree on the language of the Delhi Declaration hoping to get Russia and China on board to produce a communique that will also address pressing global problems like debt and climate change.
