New Delhi: The tremendous global outreach achieved by India in the run-up to G20 under its Presidency, consolidation of India’s position in regional groupings, acknowledgement of India’s leadership of the Global South, further strengthening of bilateral and multilateral bonds that served to counter India’s adversaries and above all the direct exposure of the world to India’s inner strengths of indigenous skills, technological potential and civilisational roots, all these should be listed as the extraordinary and lasting advantages gained by India in the wake of this highly successful world event hosted by the country under the direct guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This was a G20 Summit ‘with a difference’ setting off positive geopolitical trends both for global security and the world economy.

Nearly 200 conferences of G20 Sherpas, Ministers of participating countries and specialists, held in India and outside, generated information, graphical data and opportunities for cooperation that would be now evaluated producing a rare gift of knowledge for the participating countries. This is perhaps the biggest legacy of G20’s Delhi Summit.

A singular achievement of the Summit was the release of a joint statement - Delhi Declaration - representing a consensus that had eluded it in the past because of differences on geopolitical developments chiefly the Ukraine-Russia military conflict, issues of environment and matters relating to equity for the Global South.

India has firmed up its position as a world power whose counsel on issues of war and peace would be respected and whose voice of sanity turned the esoteric Indian concept of ‘one world one family’ into a reality.

In fact what turned out to be an epoch-making feature of the Delhi Summit was that G20, the most powerful economic group, was made aware of the need to enlarge its ambit and embrace a human-centric approach to the world at large.

The ninth P20 meet of the Parliament Speakers held on October 13-14 in Delhi as a concluding part of the G20 put a seal of finality on the decision of the democratic countries to work together to advance the agenda of the Delhi Summit. Inaugurating this meeting, Prime Minister Modi described India as the mother of democracy while Speaker Om Birla emphasised the importance of Parliamentary contribution to G20 processes.

The Delhi Declaration of G20 will go down in history as the first expression of unanimity by member countries on a wide variety of global issues beyond the traditional matters of economy and business, such as climate change, the threat of terrorism and an equitable order addressing the disparity between the North and the South.

Climate change has been the subject of acrimonious debates rather than decisions for ‘action’.