Editor's Pick: Consensus for African Union joining, other sticking points remain

G-20 members were able to reach a consensus on the issue of the African Union (AU) joining the grouping as negotiations on a joint declaration agreed upon by all members continued. Negotiators on Thursday agreed on clearing the AU’s membership, according to sources privy to the discussions at the Sherpa meeting at a resort on the outskirts of Delhi. This will mean the 55-member AU will join the European Union as the only two regional bodies in the G-20. As talks paused on Thursday afternoon, Sherpas, who are the personal representatives of each of the G-20 leaders, will move their discussions to the Delhi G-20 venue or the Bharat Mandapam next, but negotiations will continue until there is agreement for a draft declaration, sources said. No G-20 summit so far has ended without a joint statement, and Indian officials say they hope to fill the gaps by the time the summit ends on Sunday afternoon, hoping to avoid such an outcome. The “geopolitical issue” paragraph, one of two paragraphs agreed to in the Bali G-20 document last year, has held up this year’s negotiations. Russia and China have opposed this in the Indian draft. The most significant differences are over Paragraph 6 of the latest draft, which seeks to quote United Nations General Assembly resolutions condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but others remain, the sources said. For the past month, Sherpas have been burning the midnight oil, with negotiations on a draft declaration continuing until the early hours of the morning. At this juncture in India’s G20 Presidency, it is important to note that it was clear from the start that the country would be hamstrung by a series of global events and factors during negotiations. The global economic headwinds, exacerbated by the pandemic, meant a challenging environment for New Delhi in ensuring that all countries were willing to contribute resources for imperatives such as climate finance, and investment in health and poverty alleviation. The Ukraine conflict and the sanctions against Russia were next on the cards, while India’s presidency also came amidst continuing bilateral tensions with China over its border moves. Besides, the government’s decision to hold the G-20 summit two months early, instead of in November, the usual practice, has given officials less time to ensure that the Leaders’ declaration is ready However, as this editorial in today’s edition of The Hindu points out, in the face of such odds, India’s efforts to ensure the vitality of the G-20 process have been well-thought-out. The Centre made it clear from the beginning that India would not take sides in the Ukraine conflict, instead focusing on issues affecting the Global South, holding a summit of developing countries, putting issues of food, fertilizer and energy security, multilateral reform and global governance above geopolitical ones. While reaching a consensus on the African Union’s entry into G-20 will be seen as a feather in India’s diplomatic cap, the legacy of its Presidency hinges on ensuring a truce among the grouping’s fractious members. The Hindu’s Editorials Building consensus: On the G-20 summit in Delhi, India’s presidency Restoring order: On ASEAN and Myanmar The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz IBM renewed its research collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and other premiere institutes to transform and drive breakthrough innovations in hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), on September 6? IIT Bombay IIT Delhi IIT Madras IIM Ahmedabad To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 08 September 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Consensus for African Union joining, other sticking points remain G-20 members were able to reach a consensus on the issue of the African Union (AU) joining the grouping as negotiations on a joint declaration agreed upon by all members continued. Negotiators on Thursday [agreed on clearing the AU’s membership]( according to sources privy to the discussions at the Sherpa meeting at a resort on the outskirts of Delhi. This will mean the 55-member AU will join the European Union as the only two regional bodies in the G-20. As talks paused on Thursday afternoon, Sherpas, who are the personal representatives of each of the G-20 leaders, will move their discussions to the Delhi G-20 venue or the Bharat Mandapam next, but negotiations will continue until there is agreement for a draft declaration, sources said. No G-20 summit so far has ended without a joint statement, and Indian officials say they hope to fill the gaps by the time the summit ends on Sunday afternoon, hoping to avoid such an outcome. The “geopolitical issue” paragraph, one of two paragraphs agreed to in the Bali G-20 document last year, has held up this year’s negotiations. Russia and China have opposed this in the Indian draft. The most significant differences are over Paragraph 6 of the latest draft, which seeks to quote United Nations General Assembly resolutions condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but others remain, the sources said. For the past month, Sherpas have been burning the midnight oil, with negotiations on a draft declaration continuing until the early hours of the morning. At this juncture in India’s G20 Presidency, it is important to note that it was clear from the start that the country would be hamstrung by a series of global events and factors during negotiations. The global economic headwinds, exacerbated by the pandemic, meant a challenging environment for New Delhi in ensuring that all countries were willing to contribute resources for imperatives such as climate finance, and investment in health and poverty alleviation. The Ukraine conflict and the sanctions against Russia were next on the cards, while India’s presidency also came amidst continuing bilateral tensions with China over its border moves. Besides, the government’s decision to hold the G-20 summit two months early, instead of in November, the usual practice, has given officials less time to ensure that the Leaders’ declaration is ready However, as [this editorial]( today’s edition of The Hindu points out, in the face of such odds, India’s efforts to ensure the vitality of the G-20 process have been well-thought-out. The Centre made it clear from the beginning that India would not take sides in the Ukraine conflict, instead focusing on issues affecting the Global South, holding a summit of developing countries, putting issues of food, fertilizer and energy security, multilateral reform and global governance above geopolitical ones. While reaching a consensus on the African Union’s entry into G-20 will be seen as a feather in India’s diplomatic cap, the legacy of its Presidency hinges on ensuring a truce among the grouping’s fractious members. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Building consensus: On the G-20 summit in Delhi, India’s presidency]( [Arrow][Restoring order: On ASEAN and Myanmar]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz IBM renewed its research collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and other premiere institutes to transform and drive breakthrough innovations in hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), on September 6? - IIT Bombay - IIT Delhi - IIT Madras - IIM Ahmedabad To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. Today’s Best Reads [[Manhole misery: A cry for a cleanup] Manhole misery: A cry for a cleanup]( [[Human-reptile conflict in Odisha: when crocodiles attack] Human-reptile conflict in Odisha: when crocodiles attack]( [[A hospital in search of a cure] A hospital in search of a cure]( [[Flayed by fickle weather] Flayed by fickle weather]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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