Bangladesh "fully subscribes" to six priorities of the Indian G20 presidency, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.
"We believe that our honourable Prime Minister’s participation at the G20 Summit in New Delhi will add yet another feather to the ‘Sonali Adhyay’ or ‘Golden Chapter’ of our bilateral relations," he said as the prime minister is set to attend the summit on September 9-10.
The minister was speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized special event styled “G20 summit: Dhaka to New Delhi” at the Foreign Service Academy on Thursday.
Ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin spoke at the event as the Bangladesh Sherpa for G20. Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma and G20 Empower advocate Selima Ahmad, MP also spoke.
Panels will discuss three thematic priorities of the summit – women-led development, lifestyle for the environment and green development, and digital public infrastructures.
G20 has created much hype this year in Bangladesh, with Dhaka participating in all the meetings of this forum as the only invited “guest country” from South Asia.
This group of big economies was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.
It was upgraded to the level of heads of state/government in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007, and, in 2009, was designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.
The summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating presidency.
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the EU are members of the G20.
They represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
India is at the group's helm from December 1, 2022 to November 30 this year with the theme “One Earth. One Family. One Future”.
The priorities include green development, climate finance and LiFE; accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth; accelerating progress on SDGs; technological transformation and digital public infrastructure; multilateral institutions for the 21st century; and women-led development.
It comes at a time when a cold war-like situation is prevailing in the world following the Russia, Ukraine war just after the worst-ever pandemic.
The UN Security Council's role comes under scanner.
Even UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for reform of the Security Council to align with the "realities of today's world".
Some analysts, however, believe that G20 could be that platform since all the permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and the other big economies of the world come together under this forum.
This invitation to Dhaka, according to High Commissioner Verma, means that India attaches importance to its relationship with Bangladesh, and Bangladesh also has development stories to share with the world.
The foreign minister congratulated India and said the "Indian Presidency of G20 has literally transformed the forum, not just in form but also in substance."
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had participated in G7 Outreach Meetings in Japan and Canada in 2016 and 2018 respectively. She recently attended the BRICS Outreach Summit in Johannesburg as one of the invited leaders from outside Africa.
"Her upcoming participation at the G20 Summit stands out for the fact that the invited leaders there get to share the discussion table along with the core G20 members."
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now a globally recognized voice for peaceful coexistence, inclusive growth, right to development, women’s empowerment, climate action and digital transformation," he said.
"She represents nearly 170 million people, speaks for a diverse and democratic polity, and steers the world’s 35th largest economy to resilience and prosperity."
The foreign minister said Bangladesh’s participation at the upcoming G20 Summit also "aligns with our value-driven diplomatic efforts to champion the cause of sustainable development globally."
"It is to the credit of the Indian G20 Presidency that it has brought the issues of the Global South to the foreground, where it can count on Bangladesh as a willing partner."
He also acknowledged the call made by his Indian counterpart Minister S Jaishankar for a "re-globalization that is more inclusive and diversified than the model that treats most countries in the Global South as mere recipients or consumers."
"A traditional spokesperson for LDCs and climate-vulnerable countries, Bangladesh is now poised to take an enhanced role as a legitimate voice for the Global South on certain key priorities," Dr Momen said.
"We look forward to working together with G20 partners to find multi-dimensional solutions to the multiple crises plaguing our world.
"The recognition by G20 - under the Indian Presidency - that the status quo is no longer sustainable for multilateralism to function is itself a major turn-around," he said.
Bangladesh sherpa Ziauddin said Prime Minister Hasina will be making a "considerable contribution to the inclusive multilateral process" at the summit.
She will also engage with other heads of government in separate bilateral meetings, he said.