India has been captaining a great all year diplomatic festival: more of 200 meetings of international delegations held in 60 cities throughout the country to culminate with a final summit in a chaotic capital that brought together heads of state from more than 40 countries for three days. He G-20 concluded this Sunday in New Delhi trying to appear in writing an image of unity that does not reflect a global reality fragmented by increasingly marked blocks.
Originally, the group of leaders pushed the global economy out of a dangerous Asian financial crisis and promised that a new world order would be governed by international cooperation. But current photography is dominated by a new cold war between the two superpowersthe United States and China, and the confrontation between Moscow y West after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The great democracies lose influence in Africa, middle East y Latin America in the face of authoritarian regimes such as that of Beijing. Meanwhile, the On Globalwhere developing countries are located, moves on several fronts demanding more attention and voice in the framework of global governance.
For President Joe Biden, the absence of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Delhi has been a good opportunity to take center stage at the summitor at least share it with the host Narendra Modiprime minister of India. Biden has taken the opportunity to present an ambitious agenda with new financing agreements for low-income countries and a mega infrastructure project (a maritime and railway corridor connecting India with the Middle East) that seeks to counteract the new Silk Road promoted by Beijing at a time when the traditional Arab partners of USA are deepening their ties with China.
The leaders’ summit leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth. There were good words, but few groundbreaking commitments. Modi celebrated as a personal victory having achieved, as a host and great balancer in the games of power, a consensus for all of his colleagues to put their signature on a final declaration that has been criticized for its empty and recurring content on climate change issues.