On September 12, 2023, the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA) held a roundtable discussion entitled “Lessons from the G20 Summit in New Delhi”. The participants of the discussion were Péter Goreczky and Gergely Fejérdy, senior researchers at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, and Júlia Szivák, assistant professor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. The event was moderated by Tibor Mezei, researcher at the Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs.
The discussion started with possible reasons for Xi Jinping’s absence from the G20 summit. According to Péter Goreczky, there may be both domestic and foreign policy reasons behind this. The foreign policy motive could be that China tends to favour forums that it dominates – such as BRICS – or that it may have intended to devalue the importance of the summit, which was organised by its great rival India. Júlia Szivák noted that the possible Chinese attempt to downgrade the prestige of the summit could not be seen as effective, as India was able to successfully position itself as the leader of the Global South in China’s absence. The final document adopted at the end of the summit can also be considered a diplomatic victory for India.
Regarding the accession of the African Union to the G20, Gergely Fejérdy noted that the inclusion of the new continent allows new countries to partake in global institutional reforms. Péter Goreczky added that the inclusion of the African Union shows that Africa is gaining momentum and that Western countries must pay more attention to it. However, it is questionable to what extent the AU will be able to act as a united entity, especially considering its dependence on external actors in many respects – for example, as Gergely Fejérdy pointed out, on China and India, who can exert economic pressure on African countries through their investments.
At the summit, the G20 tried to connect not only with Africa but also with the Middle East. This, according to Péter Goreczky, on one hand shows that the United States does not want to completely cede the Middle East to China. On the other hand, it proves that the world cannot be divided into two blocs, and that many countries can maintain relations with both the G7 and BRICS. Additionally, Gergely Fejérdy and Júlia Szivák underlined the increased importance of India as a bilateral partner.
Regarding the joint final declaration adopted at the end of the summit – which, unlike last year, did not condemn Russia by name for its aggression against Ukraine –, participants agreed that the West has recognised that without compromise, it could lose its influence and relations with the developing world.