G20 Summit Leaders Reach Consensus, Delhi Declaration Adopted

During the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the adoption of a consensus leaders' declaration after prolonged negotiations, which had been stalled due to a reference to the Ukraine crisis.

Modi, speaking in Hindi, declared, "Friends, we have just received good news. With the hard work of our teams and the cooperation of you all, there is consensus on the New Delhi G20 Summit Leaders Declaration." He proposed the adoption of the declaration and then proclaimed its adoption with a gavel strike, followed by applause from fellow G20 leaders.

He expressed gratitude to the ministers, sherpas, and officials who worked diligently to achieve this consensus.

Details regarding how the G20 states reached consensus on the leaders' declaration, particularly the contentious paragraph concerning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, were not immediately available. The issue had previously stalled joint statements at all ministerial meetings during India's presidency.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman later acknowledged the achievement on social media, thanking all G20 members for their cooperation and support.

The breakthrough came after the Indian side shared a new draft text addressing the Ukraine crisis among G20 states to resolve the deadlock. The previous draft, agreed upon by most G20 states, had left the paragraph regarding the "geopolitical situation" or the Ukraine crisis blank.

Negotiators from G20 states had already reached an agreement on 75 other paragraphs in the draft, covering topics such as financing for climate transition, multilateral development bank reform, and cryptocurrency regulation.

Although discussions on the Ukraine crisis were described as "tough," some countries had no issues with the proposed wording of the paragraph, according to sources. The sherpas had been unable to reach an agreement on the Ukraine paragraph during several sessions held after the final sherpas' meeting on September 6.