New Delhi G20 summit is delivering on solutions to a strife torn world affected by energy and food security, says White House statement
By T N Ashok in Washington
The United States today declared that the G20 summit at New Delhi under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was delivering solutions to a strife torn world where energy and food security was threatened by the invasion of Russia on Ukraine for the last one and half years .
The US also reaffirmed it will host the 2026 G20 summit here as it sees itself as a dominant partner to balance the equations for the developing world in a war torn and hegemonistic attitudes of some countries on geo-political world leading to an economic crisis. The G-20 summit in New Delhi is a major step forward in providing solutions to the most pressing issues.
A White House statement coming immediately after the New Delhi declaration said at a moment when the global economy is suffering from the overlapping shocks of the climate crisis, fragility, and conflict—including the immense suffering unleashed by Russia’s war in Ukraine—this year’s New Delhi Summit proved that the G20 can still drive solutions to our most pressing issues.
This week, at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, President Biden has continued to deliver on the commitments he undertook while assuming office to restore the United States’ leadership role in the world, “rebuild our relationships abroad, and champion an economic agenda at home and abroad to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth for American families—and families everywhere”, the statement said.
The United States is committed to the G20 and to building on the progress made in India’s G20 Presidency, starting with Brazil’s Presidency in 2024 and South Africa’s Presidency in 2025.
The United States will host the G20 in 2026 to show its steadfast commitment to the G20 initiatives for a global geopolitical and economic order based on equity and justice. The United States is also pleased to have supported and now welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, a reflection of both the G20’s vitality and the important role of Africa in the global economy.
In New Delhi, President Biden and other G20 leaders committed to implement the G20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The United States remains committed to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda, both at home and around the world.
At home, President Biden is rebuilding the American economy from the bottom up and middle out and making historic investments in our infrastructure, our people, and our climate. These policies have enabled the United States to have the strongest recovery of any major economy. As the world’s largest bilateral donor of official development assistance, the United States is working to help develop countries support their development priorities in areas like inclusive growth, infrastructure, education, health and health security, and resilient and sustainable food systems, the White House said in a statement put out on the official WH website.
At the G20, he delivered key elements of that agenda that public funding was not alone for developing countries. Delivering a better, bigger, more effective World Bank as against China’s coercive lending process was one of the pledges made. The World Bank, with the backing of the G20, has made meaningful progress in unlocking new financing capacity and advancing operational reforms.
Under Ajay Banga’s leadership, the World Bank is set to play a transformative role in addressing global challenges. Last month, President Biden asked Congress for funds to unlock more than $25 billion in World Bank Group concessional financing. In New Delhi, he rallied G20 partners to agree to collectively mobilize more headroom and concessional finance to boost the World Bank’s capacity to support low- and middle-income countries. This initiative will make the Bank a better and bigger institution able to provide resources at the scale and speed needed to tackle global challenges and address the urgent needs of the poorest countries, the White House statement said.
Supporting countries that fall into economic crises. President Biden called on the G20 as leaders to provide meaningful debt relief so that low- and middle-income countries could stabilise their economies as they sought to recover from compounding economic shocks in the last few years, and invest in critical development needs.
Leaders in New Delhi committed to redouble efforts to resolve on-going debt distress cases—like Ghana and Sri Lanka. President Biden made it clear that the United States expects meaningful progress by the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in October.
Make financing more sustainable. President Biden urged leaders to think out of the box to come up with new solutions to enable converting unsustainable debt into transformative investments. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has provided such financing to facilitate more than $1 billion in debt for nature swaps in the Western Hemisphere and Africa—unlocking funds for countries to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises and to invest in other critical development needs. 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. At an event co-hosted by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi, President Biden and partners announced a landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that will usher a new era of connectivity from Europe to Asia, facilitating global trade, as well as cooperation on energy and digital connectivity.
President Biden also announced a new partnership with the European Union to expand investments in the Lobito Corridor. The President called on partners to deploy public capital to strategically leverage the expertise and financing of the private sector to help secure and diversify 21st century energy supply chains, expand digital connectivity, increase electricity access, bolster food security, and strengthen health systems.
President Biden, the White House said, is engaging with countries around the world in pressing for a just peace in Ukraine based on sovereignty and territorial integrity. One and a half years after Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine, G20 leaders joined President Biden in welcoming efforts to secure “a just peace that upholds all the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter.”
G20 leaders emphasized that countries must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against any state’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. G20 leaders also united in highlighting the human suffering and severe economic impacts of the war against Ukraine. The statement highlighted that major economies from around the world – including Brazil, India, and South Africa – are united in the need for Russia to uphold international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Delivering on Food Security
Since the beginning of his Administration, President Biden has made global food security a priority and galvanized collective action to respond to the global food crisis. The United States has committed more than $15.2 billion in critical humanitarian assistance and medium- to long-term food security investments around the world. The investments have enabled countries to address their acute needs and avert famine, as well as diversify their supply chains.
At the G20, President Biden championed an agenda focused on mitigating the acute food crises the world is facing today, as well as working together with G20 countries to mitigate against future shocks. The food security crisis Is exacerbated as Russia has intensified attack on global food security with its July decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI)—which was responsible for nearly 33 million tons of food exports, about two-thirds of which went directly to middle- and lower-income countries—and its attacks on Ukraine’s port infrastructure to prevent Ukrainian grain shipments from getting to those who need it most.
The United States continues to lead the charge to mitigate the impact of Russia’s invasion on world food security and to provide food assistance to the most vulnerable populations in the world. In addition to the more than $15.2 billion that the United States has provided since 2021 to address famine and food insecurity, the Biden-Harris Administration and G7 leaders have rallied the world to contribute an additional over $4.5 billion for acute and medium to long term food security assistance, half of which came from the United States. At the G20, President Biden was unequivocal in calling on Russia to stop weaponizing food, which is causing immense human suffering around the world. G20 leaders united to call for the full, timely and effective implementation of the BSGI.
Delivering on Global Health Challenges: The United States is the world’s largest bilateral donor for global health and is committed to working alongside the G20 to build a safer, more equitable future, the White House said. This includes working together to invest in health equity through vaccine distribution, expanding and improving access to health systems, and facilitating the availability of quality services to historically marginalized groups. It also includes strengthening health systems and institutions; combatting infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, and accelerating efforts towards universal health coverage.
Tackling the overdose crisis: G20 leaders came together for the first time to elevate counternarcotics challenges, and synthetic drugs in particular, as a G20 priority. Leaders recognized the public health threats posed by synthetic drugs and committed to enhanced information sharing and capacity building to address these challenges, advancing the critical actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to address the overdose crisis at home.
Tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030. At home, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to increase investments in clean energy technologies. Outside estimates report that the IRA has already created more than 170,000 jobs and will create 1.5 million over the next decade. And the IRA will expand clean energy supply, speed global adoption, and drive down technology costs by as much as 25 per cent globally. In New Delhi, President Biden and G20 leaders committed to pursue efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, encouraging more countries to follow the IRA playbook of investing in clean energy manufacturing and deployment, creating jobs, and fighting climate change.(ends)