Director General of ILO congratulates India for G20 New Delhi declaration

Director General International Labour Organization Gilbert F. Houngbo on Sunday congratulated the Indian presidency for the G20 declaration, and said he is glad "there was a consensus that fast which is a positive development".

"I want to congratulate the Indian presidency for this declaration. It is not easy to negotiate but I was glad that there was a consensus that fast which is a positive development," the Director General of the International Labour Organization said.

He further said: "Not only one planet, one family one future but also we are looking at a future where we are driving the whole economy, whole life toward much more use of technology and artificial intelligence..."

He said the "G20 started after the 2008 financial crisis, not only for India but for the whole world... G20 is 80 per cent of the world GDP."

On September 9, the Delhi Declaration was adopted. It called on nations to uphold international law, including territorial integrity, international humanitarian law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability.

The biggest takeaway of the declaration was that all 83 paragraphs of the declaration were passed unanimously with a 100 per cent consensus along with China and Russia in agreement. For the first time, the declaration contained no footnote or Chair's Summary.

The Chief co-ordinator of India's G20 presidency Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the adaptation of the Delhi declaration was momentous and has addressed the requirements and concerns of the global south.

He said, "We have ensured that the PM's vision of an outcome-oriented presidency would be held and it has been seen in every aspect of the way we have conducted the Summit. We have achieved the objectives of the Global South. We have addressed the requirements and the concerns of the Global South".

"It was momentous because, in a normal multilateral process, you have to go to the end of any Summit to attain a consensus on an outcome document. The fact that we have come up with the consensus document with the support of our G20 partners on the first day of our presidency is a tremendously positive news," he added.

Shringla also welcomed the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 grouping and said, "We are very happy that PM Modi announced the advent of the African Union as the permanent member of the G20 under our presidency.