New Delhi: It took over 200 hours of non-stop negotiations by a team of Indian diplomats to deliver G20 consensus on the New Delhi declaration that was adopted at the Leaders’ Summit here, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said Sunday.
The team of diplomats, including joint secretaries Eenam Gambhir and K Nagraj Naidu, held 300 bilateral meetings and circulated 15 drafts with their counterparts on the contentious Ukraine conflict to drive home a G20 consensus that was clinched on the first day of the Leaders Summit itself.
“The most complex part of the entire G20 was to bring consensus on the geopolitical paras (Russia-Ukraine). This was done over 200 hours of non-stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings, 15 drafts,” Kant said.
The most complex part of the entire #G20 was to bring consensus on the geopolitical paras (Russia-Ukraine). This was done over 200 hours of non -stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings, 15 drafts. In this, I was greatly assisted by two brilliant officers – @NagNaidu08 & @eenamg pic.twitter.com/l8bOEFPP37
— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) September 10, 2023
The G20 Sherpa has received all-round praise for his and his team’s work behind building G20 consensus on contentious issues such as Ukraine.
Kant said he was greatly assisted in the efforts by Naidu and Gambhir.
Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur – ‘The lead negotiator’
Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur is posted as a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He is the Chinese speaker in the team. He was reportedly a lead negotiator on the Ukraine conflict paragraphs.
Kakanur has served as the chef de cabinet to the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Previously, Kakanur was the deputy permanent representative of India to the United Nations. The career diplomat is a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service officer. Kakanur is fluent in Chinese and has served in China in four separate stints.
Eenam Gambhir
Eenam Gambhir is currently serving as a joint secretary to G20 and the Ministry of External Affairs.
A 2005-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Gambhir, in her position in the G20 Secretariat, deals with handling G20-related issues including the preparations for India’s G20 Presidency.
Prior to this, Gambhir served as a senior adviser on Peace and Security issues in the Office of the President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Gambhir holds two postgraduate degrees – a master of science in mathematics from Delhi University and a master’s in advanced international security from University of Geneva.
Significance of New Delhi Declaration
India managed to sail the boat of G20 consensus through the turbulent geopolitical tides. The Ukraine issue was a crucial point of contention between the Western bloc and the Russia-China bloc.
Especially on the Russia-Ukraine topic, India was powered by emerging countries such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia to get the breakthrough which earlier seemed unlikely.
The G20 leaders’ declaration avoided mentioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and made a general call to all states to follow the principle of respecting each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law, including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability,” the declaration said.
Following the bloc’s adoption of New Delhi Declaration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday announced, “I have received good news. Due to the hard work of our team, consensus has been built on New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Summit Declaration. My proposal is to adopt this leadership declaration. I announce to adopt this declaration. On this occasion, I congratulate my Sherpa, ministers, who worked hard for it and made it possible.”
At a press briefing yesterday, Kant said, “When we started the presidency, PM Modi said that India’s presidency should be inclusive, decisive, and action-oriented. The New Delhi Declaration has 83 paras in all, and all 83 paras have 100 per cent consensus across all countries. There are eight paras on geopolitical issues titled ‘Planet, People, Peace and Prosperity’. All those eight pars have 100 per cent consensus”.
Also read: Fossil reveals killers of dinosaurs
“All countries have unanimously supported the New Delhi Leaders Declaration. This is one declaration without a single footnote and without any Chairs Summary. This is a complete statement with 100 per cent unanimity,” he added.
The diplomatic victory was praised across political circles as senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor hailed Kant and said this is a proud moment for India.
Well done @amitabhk87! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! "Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft," says India's G20 Sherpa on 'Delhi Declaration' consensus.
A proud moment for India at G20! https://t.co/9M0ki7appY— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2023
The former undersecretary general at the United Nations took to ‘X’ and wrote, “Well done @amitabhk87! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! “Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,” says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus. A proud moment for India at G20!”
PNN & Agencies
