India’s Modi says ‘global governance has failed’ at G20 meeting

India’s Prime Minister calls on countries to find common ground amid global challenges.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has criticized global institutions for failing to address the world’s biggest challenges, calling on countries to reach agreement on divisive issues.

Speaking at the opening of the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in New Delhi on Thursday, Modi said countries must recognize that multilateralism is currently “in crisis”.

“The experience of recent years – financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and wars – clearly shows that global governance has failed,” Modi said in a recorded statement.

“We must not let problems that we cannot solve together stand in the way,” Modi added.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to be a major talking point at the meeting, although New Delhi is seen keen to steer talks towards issues affecting the South, such as poverty alleviation and climate finance.

On Wednesday, Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra said New Delhi expected economic challenges related to the conflict to receive as much attention as the war itself.

India, a major buyer of Russian arms and energy, has not directly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a face-to-face meeting in September: “I know today is not the time for war.”

The meeting of G20 foreign ministers comes after a meeting of finance ministers in Bengaluru last month failed to agree on a joint statement on the war.

At that meeting, Modi called on leading economies to help the world’s most vulnerable people and “bring stability, confidence and growth back to the global economy”.

The lack of consensus at the meeting of finance officials mirrored the outcome of last November’s G20 summit in Bali, when host Indonesia released a statement acknowledging differences between countries.