Global institutions should be able to deal with challenges that world is facing: Hardeep Puri

New Delhi [India], April 21 : The multilateral system that exists today is the product of the crisis, the Second World War and India's G20 presidency is taking place during multiple global crises including food, fuel, and fertiliser, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said and noted that global institutions should be able to deal with the challenges that the world is facing.

Solutions to the Global South's needs are coming from the Global South itself and a resurgent country like India cannot emulate the growth models of others were among the takeaways from the discussions at the conclave.

The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), in partnership with the Department of Political Science, Hindu College, Think20 (T20) Engagement group, Ministry of External Affairs and the G20 Secretariat orgsed the Hindu-ORF Policy Conclave 2023 at Hindu College on Thursday.

"The multilateral system that exists today is the product of a crisisthe Second World War. India's G20 presidency is taking place during multiple crisesfood, fuel, and fertiliser. These could push an additional 75-95 million people into poverty," Puri said.

"There is a need to rethink the Bretton Woods system. We must ensure that institutions are fit for purpose and are able to deal with the challenges that the world is facing today," he noted.

ORF is a leading multidisciplinary think tank with centres in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and an overseas affiliate in Washington DC. It helps discover and inform India's choices and carries Indian voices and ideas to forums shaping global debates.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Chairman of T20 India Core Group, and Director General of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses said the UN system hasn't fully delivered on human rights, peace and security, and development.

"And the IMF's quota system has weighed heavily in favour of the developed nations. In times of binary choices, India must provide the third choice and try and implement the idea of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'," he said.

Other than Puri and Chinoy, the conclave was also addressed by Muktesh Pardeshi, Special Secretary of G20 Secretariat, MEA, Eenam Gambhir, Joint Secretary of G20 Secretariat, MEA; Prof. Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister; Lakshmi Puri, Former Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations; Preeti Saran, Former Secretary (East), and Member of UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Preeti Saran said G20 provides an opportunity for India to showcase the concerns of developing societies.

"There are many issues that the global south wasn't responsible for creating but forced to face the repercussions of," Ambassador Saran pointed out as she spoke on India's approach to south-south solidarity," she said.

Pardeshi noted that for the first time the Troika nations, Indonesia, India and Brazil are representing the developing world. He also stated that there is an opportunity to bring in ideas which weren't given much salience before.

Gambhir highlighted that climate action cannot be taken up only by the governments and the policy communities but should involve everyone. To create an ecosystem which enables sustainability, each and every community will have to play a role.

Some key takeaways from the event were - For a resurgent country like India, it cannot emulate the growth models of others and there is a need to formulate a new model; solutions to the Global South's needs are coming from the Global South itself; technology is not delivering a better life for women yet, as AI is digitally replicating the biases that were already present in real-world society and AI can become more representative only if it is designed by the community itself; and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) is a framework that has come just in time for the fulfilment of the SDGs while minimising trade-offs.

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