Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Diplomatist July 19 Edition . | Seite 16

GLOBAL CENTRE STAGE
An ADBI Initiative
G20 SUMMIT
BY AMBASSADOR K.V. RAJAN
T
he recently concluded (June 28-29) G20 Summit
at Osaka has been a subject of considerable
discussion within the diplomatic and think
tank community. For some, it was a lot of theatre and
photo-ops with some serious business. For others,
there was a conspicuous mismatch between the smiles
and handshakes of leaders before the cameras and the
obviously unresolved tensions between them on a
number of issues including trade and cyber security.
However, it would be fair to say that the Summit
was a success in terms of defusing tensions and issuing
16 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 7 • July 2019, Noida
guidelines for a sustainable future. After all, the world
was on tenterhooks on the eve of the Summit, with
war clouds gathering over Iran, an all-out Trade War
between the USA and China brewing relentlessly,
tensions because of USA sanctions against Russia and
their implications for countries like India and Turkey,
the Middle East in disarray, strains between the USA
and its closest allies, and much uncertainty about where
the global economy was going.
In the event, the Osaka summit came out with a
comprehensive and balanced declaration covering a