And dissensions within
The G-20 summits have faced strong and at times violent protests by groups opposed to the capitalist system which they consider responsible for regional economic disparities, rising poverty and global warming. While there were protests of the type in Hamburg also, the summit this time was marked by severe internal dissensions. The US which had ruled the roost so far stood isolated on account of Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord on climate change and his protectionist economic policies. It was only to preserve a fragile unity of the G-20 that members made concessions on trade and climate language to Donald Trump. Angela Merkel, hosting G-20 summit, said she “deplored” the US exit from the agreement and added that she did not share the view of Theresa May that Washington could decide to re-join the pact.
The summit brought together Trump and Vladimir Putin for the first time. Their get together spread over two hours and 15 minutes was, in the words of Secretary of State Tillerson, indicative that the two leaders “connected very quickly” with “very clear positive chemistry” Trump being a highly unpredictable person, it would be premature to predict how long the bonhomie would persist. The only meaningful understanding between the two was to agree on a cease fire in South West Syria bordering Jordan and Israel.
In his speech on the first day of the summit, Prime Minister Modi took a swipe at Pakistan saying some nations were using terrorism for achieving political goals. Equating Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Modi stated that although the names of these organisations may be different, the ideology remains the same. The summit however did not go beyond a statement condemning all terrorist attacks worldwide and vowing to stand united and firm in the fight against terrorists. It underlined the need to redouble efforts to tackle the financing of terrorist groups. There is a need on the part of Islamabad to realise that there is a growing consensus in the world against terrorist groups of all types.
