G20 buzz is palpable in Chanakyapuri

The kind of excitement that pervades the elegant chancelleries in the diplomatic enclave depends on the role a particular G20 government sees for itself within the multilateral group, and extrapolates it to its Indian presidency.

Not since Indira Gandhi hosted the 7th Non-Aligned Summit in New Delhi in March 1983 has there been so much excitement in Chanakyapuri — the national capital’s diplomatic enclave — as in the nine months prior to the meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Group of Twenty (G20) on September 9 and 10. 

The kind of excitement that pervades the elegant chancelleries which dot the manicured, leafy plots in the diplomatic enclave depends on the role a particular G20 government sees for itself within the multilateral group, and extrapolates it to its Indian presidency.

Germany’s Ambassador Philipp Ackermann, an art historian by education, sees the Indian presidency as an opportunity to bring to the enlightenment of Germany, Europe, and the rest of the world — in that order — little known, but treasure-worthy reservoirs of Indian art. Therefore, he has curated within his embassy, art from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which even many Indians are unfamiliar with. After three months, this display will be replaced by underexposed art from another part of India.

It was G20 meetings held in Andaman and Nicobar Islands which led the German envoy to less known art on the islands. Germany plays an important role in plurilateral settings, but never has any German diplomat been called to play a role beyond the serious business of statecraft within G20.

If it were not for India’s G20 organisers, who decided to scatter the group’s 500-odd preparatory meetings across India, far away from the routine foreign policy venue of New Delhi, art from the farthest Indian island outpost on the south-eastern coast may never have got the exposure it is now getting in Germany. Scores of German ministers, senior officials, and captains of industry who have visited India during its G20 presidency have now seen the captivating works of art from the Andamans. Because the curation will rotate every three months, more unknown art from several parts of India will get such exposure: an unintended gain from the G20 Summit.

Art from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is close to the hearts of Indonesians, who held the immediate past presidency of G20 by a coincidence. The twin islands off the Indian mainland are merely 150 km from Indonesia’s own Sumatra. Indonesians from various professional domains have continuously streamed into India in the last nine months because Jakarta is part of the G20 troika as its predecessor host. They make it a point to stress at every forum that because of proximity to the twin islands, India is their closest neighbour within the multilateral group.

For India, the only other such neighbour is China. Such wide-ranging India-Indonesia interactions through G20 platforms have helped to bridge gaps in cultural, ideological, people-to-people, and strategic relations between the two countries. These gaps should not have been there in the first place, because of their overlapping histories. The successive summits in Bali and New Delhi — and the build-up to the latter — have helped to bridge this gap.

These efforts have made Indonesia’s embassy in Chanakyapuri its busiest mission on the country’s foreign policy map this year. If it were not for her ethnic Javanese appearance, Ina Krishnamurthi, Indonesia’s Ambassador in New Delhi, would have been mistaken for an Indian at G20 meetings. At diplomatic receptions and media interviews, the ambassador is inevitably asked questions about her Indian name. Her father is from Java and her grandfather had a great fascination for Mahabharata. That is where she got her Krishnamurthi surname from.

No one knows if the successive themes of the Bali and New Delhi summits were consciously chosen. Bali strived for the motto ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, which was appropriate after the COVID-19 pandemic. From there, it is a natural progression to the motto of this month’s gathering: ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. Among the entire diplomatic corps in Chanakyapuri, Krishnamurthi is the most passionate — and perhaps the most substantive advocate — for G20 causes. 

Because of the commitment that missions in India have demonstrated throughout this year for the G20 process, the buzz in Chanakyapuri will last beyond India’s presidency. The next chair of G20 will go to Brazil. After that, it will be South Africa’s turn. That means the bloc which was launched in Washington to fit Western interests is slipping entirely into the hands of emerging economies. South Africa will be the fourth emerging economy to preside over G20 in succession. That is a pointer to where global geopolitics and geo-economics are headed. 

(KP Nayar has extensively covered West Asia and reported from Washington as a foreign correspondent for 15 years.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.