The G20 is not a forum to get into geopolitical issues, India’s economic affairs secretary, Ajay Seth, said on Wednesday, indicating that New Delhi would not allow the West to politicize the intergovernmental forum primarily tasked with global economic affairs.
"The effect of sanctions on Russia is not on the table for discussions, and G20 is not a forum to get into geopolitical issues,” Seth said following the 1st Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in Mumbai.
The G20 is meant to discuss systemic issues and how to address those issues, Seth underlined.
More than 160 foreign delegates participated in the meeting to mark the beginning of the G20 Finance Track under the Indian presidency.
The Indian side also underscored the need to reform the West-led multilateral system that has been in place since the end of World War II. Meanwhile, climate financing and climate change mitigation would be part of the G20 agenda under Delhi’s presidency.
The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine spilled over into the G20 meetings under Indonesia’s presidency in 2022, culminating in a lone joint statement released after the Leaders’ Summit in Bali.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who represented Moscow at the Leaders’ Summit, said there is “no need to go deep [into the Ukrainian issue] since this is not the business of the G20,” also pointing out how Western powers are trying to politicize the group's agenda.