India’s G20 presidency, where photo-ops are mistaken for outcomes and a stage for a summit
New Delhi is desperate for a seat at the global high table that would validate Narendra Modi’s domestic image of a powerful global leader. But inflated opinions are often a trap.
Why read this story?
Editor's note: For India, the presidency of the G20 is nothing if not a big party. The government has turned it into a tourism festival, with mid-level functionaries from member countries being garlanded, made to sport turbans and watch dancers welcome them to dull and drab preparatory meetings for a summit that will only be held in September. As a spectacle, the New Delhi summit will dwarf the Non-Aligned Movement summit and Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that the national capital hosted in 1983, though it will host a smaller number of heads of state/government. With the Indian government directing all its energies towards making the G20 summit a huge success, there are many questions in the air: What is the point of the G20? What does India bring to the table? How does the presidency further India’s strategic interests? The evolution of G20 It was the G7 that was instrumental in founding the G20 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. On behalf of the G7, Canada’s then finance minister, Paul Martin, extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart, Yashwant …
More in Chaos
You may also like
What China’s recent Middle East tour says about their ties
China’s expanding influence in the GCC region comes with its own set of opportunities—and constraints shaped by America’s influence in the Gulf.
Annus horribilis: 2025 was the year India learned it wasn't indispensable
It is the logical consequence of foreign policy built on a decade of illusion rather than the realities of power. The question is whether anyone in the government has the courage to admit it.
The 72 hours that saw IndiGo unravel
A crew crunch, new regulatory norms and simmering discontent push India’s biggest airline into its biggest crisis yet, one that could seriously dent its reputation for reliability.
