Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, while foreshadowing the country’s agenda at the G20 summit on Saturday, said India wants and should set an example in tackling climate problems and energy resources. Furthermore, he underlined that the theme of the Italian presidency at the G20 is reflected in the Indian concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family).
The Italian presidency of the summit focused its attention on three pillars, “Population, Planet and Prosperity”. On India’s role in tackling climate issues, Shringla said India is today at the forefront of countries that intend to take action to save the planet.
“G20 Heads of State meeting in Rome for the 16th Summit of World Leaders under the Italian presidency. India, like Italy, is one of the founding members of the G20. Both Italy and India are very ancient nations with centuries-old histories , which are marked by special ties,” he said.
Elaborating on ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, Shringla said that the ancient phrase can be translated liberally as “all the people of the planet belong to the same family and aspires to live in harmony”.
He said that like Italy, India also believes that common problems require common solutions.
Modi and Pope Francis gave each other “Climate change represents one of the greatest challenges of our times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian people have taken an approach to climate intervention that draws inspiration from ancient Indian philosophy, which invites us to establish a relationship of harmony with the entire creation. Thanks to a detailed policy and program of interventions based on this approach, India is today at the forefront of countries that intend to take action to save the planet,” Shringla said.
Stating that massive investments have been made to augment India’s renewable energy resources, he said, “Today, India can be said to be well in the phase of transition”.
“It is well known that India has the lowest per capita CO2 emissions among the G20 countries, with an impact estimated at 1.9 tonnes per capita. But this has not stopped India not only from entering into specific commitments to achieve the Paris objectives, but also from exceeding them,” he said.
“India recognizes the efforts made by the Italian President, aimed at addressing the interconnected issues of development and climate protection. This meeting of G20 leaders will take place a few days before COP26, where climate change will be addressed. It will be necessary to reaffirm the commitments of the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention) for the transfer of technologies and for funding aimed at climate interventions,” he said.
Discussing the bilateral ties between the two countries, Shringla wrote, “The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first visit to Italy in a decade. The spirit of cooperation between India and Italy is deeply rooted within the G20. Two modern democracies, India and Italy, strongly support the rule of law and multilateralism, and share increasingly convergent positions on solutions to common problems on a global scale.
The political understanding is at odds with the multifaceted and dynamic economic ties established between the two countries, with close commercial ties and complementary strengths in sectors ranging from infrastructure to the agro-food industry, to renewable energy. “
Recognizing the need to harness the great potential of our relationship in the best possible way, India and Italy signed the 2020-2025 Action Plan to strengthen their partnership at a virtual summit held in November 2020, when political, Strategic objectives in economic, scientific and technological as well as cultural areas were set to be achieved over the next five years.
“All this, also thanks to Enrica Lexi’s peaceful resolution of the Italian naval crisis, has helped to restart our bilateral relations. We must not forget that Italy is home to one of the largest Indian communities in Europe “
He continued, “Italy is also a member of the International Solar Alliance and CDRI, an international alliance to promote disaster resilient infrastructure, both of which have strong support from India. Italian recognition of the Indian Covishield Vaccine also includes the medical sector and space technology. points to greater collaboration.
“India has set ambitious targets in renewable energy, biofuels and green hydrogen. Several Italian companies are already working on energy generation projects in India. For the foreseeable future, new opportunities are expected to strengthen this energy partnership,” Shringla said.
“After Italy, India will lead the G20. The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an opportunity to encourage our bilateral trade relations by projecting them towards the future in a more decisive context.