Consensus reached, New Delhi Declaration adopted at G20

In a huge win for India's G20 presidency, the New Delhi Leaders' Summit Declaration was adopted on Saturday after consensus was reached among the member states. "Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on the New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam.

"It is my proposal that this G20 declaration be adopted," the prime minister said. After the approval of the members, Modi declared that it has been adopted. "On this occasion, I would like to thank our ministers, sherpas, and all officials who made this possible with their hard work," PM Modi said.

“India’s G20 Presidency has been the most ambitious in the history of G-20. With 112 outcomes and presidency documents, we have more than doubled the substantive work from previous presidencies," PM Modi said. Consensus among the members has been difficult to achieve as the member countries are divided over Russia's war in Ukraine.

India’s G20 Presidency has been the most ambitious in the history of G-20. 73 outcomes (lines of effort) and 39 annexed documents (presidency documents, not including Working Group outcome documents).

G20 Delhi Declaration: New text on Ukraine
At the G20 sherpa meeting that took place in Haryana from September 3 to 6, the negotiators did not reach any consensus on the text to describe the Ukraine issue. Had there been no consensus, the summit might have ended without a joint declaration.

To avoid such a conclusion, India circulated a new paragraph on the Ukraine conflict which was accepted by the group leaders.

“The Indian side circulated the draft paragraph on the Ukraine issue among the other G20 members this [Saturday] morning. It is now being considered by the other states. Some countries have no problem with the wording,” a person from a G7 state said on condition of anonymity.
Two people from a G20 state also said the draft paragraph on Ukraine had been circulated among the other member states for discussions in an effort to break the logjam on the issue.

The people described the discussions as “tough” and noted that the Ukraine crisis remained the main issue holding up consensus on the draft leaders’ declaration. The Indian side has pushed for the draft paragraph to be accepted by all states in order to ensure a successful conclusion to the summit, but the people acknowledged that the discussions are likely to be extended.