New Delhi: The White House released a statement Saturday asserting that the New Delhi G20 Summit proved that the forum can still “drive solutions” to the most pressing global issues.
“Leading by example and working with partners around the world, the United States and the G20 delivered for developing countries, for our shared planet, and for an inclusive and responsible digital transformation,” the statement said.
The White House added that President Biden has continued to deliver on his commitment to restore the US’ leadership role in the world, rebuild its relationships globally and to deliver a sustainable and inclusive economic growth for both Americans and the world.
The statement also described the six key areas where the US and the G20 have helped deliver an ambitious agenda to combat the pressing issues of the day — ‘delivering for developing countries’, ‘working for a just peace in Ukraine’, ‘delivering on food security’, ‘delivering on global health challenges’, ‘delivering for our planet’, and ‘delivering an inclusive and responsible digital transformation’.
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Delivering for developing countries & working on a just peace in Ukraine
In the ongoing New Delhi G20 summit, Biden and other leaders have committed to implement the G20 2023 Action Plan to accelerate sustainable development goals (SDGs), the statement said.
“Recognizing that public funding alone is not enough, President Biden is championing an ambitious agenda to mobilize significant additional financing for development from all sources — public and private, domestic and international. At the G20, he delivered key elements of that agenda,” it stated.
One of the main reforms the US has pushed for is the reshaping of the World Bank Group. As ThePrint reported earlier, the US has sought funding from its Congress to help unlock more than $25 billion in World Bank Group concessional financing.
The G20 Leaders in New Delhi also committed to increase their efforts to resolve the ongoing debt distress cases, such as those seen in Ghana and Sri Lanka. The statement said that Biden expects meaningful progress by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the annual meetings in October.
“At the G20, President Biden also pressed all creditors — including the private sector and multilateral development banks — to offer climate resilient debt clauses in their lending. The U.S. Export Import Bank is preparing to do so in select bilateral lending, in line with its governance framework,” the statement said.
It added that the successful announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor at the New Delhi G20 summit, will “usher a new era of connectivity from Europe to Asia”. This economic corridor seeks to reshape the trade route between the Gulf, Europe and South Asia, connecting them by sea and rail links as reported by ThePrint earlier.
“President Biden is engaging with countries around the world in pressing for a just peace in Ukraine based on sovereignty and territorial integrity…G20 leaders also united in highlighting the human suffering and severe economic impacts of the war against Ukraine,” the statement added.
Food security, health, clean energy & digital transformation
“The United States has committed more than $15.2 billion [since 2021] in critical humanitarian assistance and medium- to long-term food security investments around the world,” the statement said.
It added that at G20, Biden “championed an agenda focused on mitigating the acute food crises the world is facing today” and working with other nations to mitigate future shocks.
Biden also called on Russia to stop “weaponizing food”. “G20 leaders united to call for the full, timely and effective implementation of the BSGI [Black Sea Grain Initiative],” the statement added.
The BSGI as ThePrint reported earlier, allowed Ukraine to safely export grain, oil and fertilisers through its ports on the Black Sea. Nearly 33 million tonnes of grains were exported from July 2022 till its unilateral termination by Russia in July 2023.
“In New Delhi, President Biden joined G20 leaders in committing to keep food supply chains and trade open, including for agricultural inputs like fertiliser and seeds…and use digital technology to help lower production and transportation costs and diversify access to new global food markets,” the statement read.
On health, it said that the Pandemic Fund, established by the World Bank and mentioned in the Bali G20 Leaders’ Declaration last year, is now a “reality”. The Fund recently concluded its first call for proposals, approving $338 million in grants to 37 countries across 6 regions.
“G20 leaders came together for the first time to elevate counternarcotics challenges, and synthetic drugs in particular, as a G20 priority,” the statement added. This is important for the US, as it has reportedly been facing a Fentanyl and opioid crisis for a few years now — the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated over 105,000 deaths due to the drug overdoses during the 12 months ending in October 2021.
On clean energy, the White House statement said, “President Biden and G20 leaders committed to pursue efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030”, adding that “With President Biden’s leadership, G20 countries for the first time urged all countries to include economy-wide targets covering all greenhouse gases in upcoming cycles for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”
At the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Global Biofuels Alliance, with the US a founding member along with India, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Argentina and South Africa. “This new Alliance will bring countries together to expand and create new markets for sustainable biofuels,” the statement said.
On digital transformation, Biden is said to have championed harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) “for good and for all”, cutting the “digital gender divide in half” by 2030 and “improving access to digital services”.
To help meet his commitment to halve the digital gender gap, he “announced a Women in the Digital Economy Initiative, convening partners from government, the private sector, and civil society to accelerate efforts to close the gender digital divide”, the statement said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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