G20 summit a big plus in global ledger: Jaishankar

New Delhi, October 23

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said the G20 summit held here last month turned out far better than most people expected.

“We have two reasons today to be satisfied. In the totality of global diplomacy at a very difficult phase in international politics, actually the G20 (summit) was a big plus on the positive side of the global ledger. Secondly, it has made a country which is today the fifth largest economy, which in many ways is globalising at a very rapid rate, it has made this society far more connected with the rest of the world,” he observed at a G20 tree plantation event here.

“As we bask in the afterglow of the summit, I am often asked — tell me what did you really get done? When I look at what we have done, to me the four to five key takeaways were the action plan for the SDG, the message of women led development, support for digital public infrastructure, the LiFE Mission. There was a strong sustainability, green, global south image that came out of the G20,” he added.

Jaishankar admitted that a lot of people were still a little surprised that the G20 could bridge what were strong positions and deep divides.