
Amitabh Kant Book On G20 Summit: G20 Summit increased India’s credibility across the world. But was it that easy? Leaders from around the world had arrived in Delhi and the bureaucratic machinery of the central government was working overtime to ensure better performance, but the success of the summit depended on one question: would there be unanimity in the leaders’ declaration? And the same question was asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sherpa Amitabh Kant an hour before the start of the summit.
Why did not all countries agree?
Amitabh Kant has described this important conversation with the Prime Minister on the morning of 9 September 2023 in his book “How India Scaled Mount G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency” published by Rupa Publications. News agency PTI has reported that Kant has written in his book, “The Prime Minister had reached Bharat Mandapam to take stock of the preparations. I had to inform him about our progress so far. When he asked about the leaders’ announcement, So I outlined the conflict between the US and China and informed him that the NDLD (New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration) had not yet been finalized and he paused for a moment to say that bilateral issues would be discussed in the multilateral meeting. Before answering why it was being raised, he said he did not want to get into the processes or procedures but wanted to see a ‘consensus’ outcome very soon.” The Prime Minister hoped that the Sherpas would navigate and secure a final agreement.
The book details the difficult times that made the summit a success. The Prime Minister announced the 37-page declaration at the beginning of the second session on the inaugural day of the summit and the subsequent consensus on its adoption. Kant His book details how New Delhi managed to deal with geopolitical currents and bilateral issues to reach this consensus.
Amitabh Kant writes, “Even after 300 hours of talks in more than 250 bilateral meetings, there were constant amendments and objections. The seriousness of the talks was felt by all the participants, but the search for a mutually agreeable outcome was still on.” “Seemed out of reach.” He wrote that the Prime Minister was “well aware” of the risks involved and had asked for regular briefings. He had asked to send urgent situation reports every two hours. This was a task that required extreme multitasking and quick analysis. Through this continuous communication, information was not only reaching PM Modi, but we were also being inspired to work continuously and it helped us in planning and taking stock of the talks.
Kant writes that Russia had insisted that the word ‘sanction’ be included in the declaration. To convince this, a comprehensive discussion was held with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin.
Russia believed like this
The risk was great, because refusing to compromise would have isolated Russia with a 19–1 vote. We ultimately had to tell Russia that this was not possible and that other countries would not accept it. We have made it completely clear. Kant writes, “We told Russia that its insistence on this matter has put significant pressure on India and has made it impossible for India to move forward.”
G20 Sherpa has written in the book that during the entire talks, the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US – put pressure on India to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but India’s stand was on the guest list. Was to be limited to G20 leaders.
On Dr. Jaishankar’s advice, I had to inform the Russian interlocutor that if he did not agree, Zelensky would be the first speaker after PM Modi’s speech. This bold and assertive negotiating strategy ultimately worked and Russia caved in.
There was another obstacle. Kant writes that the head of the Chinese team pointed to a bilateral challenge with the US, arising from a part of the announcement that the 2026 G20 summit would be held in the US. The Chinese Sherpa explained that the US would not grant them visas, not even to their governor of Hong Kong. He says that until he gets a written guarantee that he will be issued a visa, he will not agree to the geopolitical provisions.
Celebrated China like this
The leaders’ meeting began at 9 am and Kant held parallel talks from 9.30 am to 11.30 am in the room adjacent to the Leaders Hall. He wrote, “I worked with (US Sherpa Mike) Pyle and Li (Chinese team chief Kexin) to draft the details of the letter. We chose to use the word ‘ensured’ instead of ‘guaranteed’. By afternoon, We successfully resolved this bilateral issue, even though it was technically outside the scope of India’s role as G20 chair, he says, adding that ultimately all countries participated in the summit. before Day building consensus was “no small feat” and he cited the example of the 2022 Bali SUBMIT, where negotiations on a declaration dragged on until the final hours.