India has arrived at global high table: Experts

Washington: India has arrived at the global high table and is positioning itself as a country that brings other nations together, according to experts.

In its capacity as the current president of G20, India is hosting the annual summit of the influential grouping in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

“This week India will host the G20, the first time a South Asian country has hosted this summit. India has long sought a place at the global high table and hosting these summits is symbolic that India has arrived,” Aparna Pande, from the prestigious Hudson Institute think-tank, told PTI.

The year 2023 is the year of India when the world’s most populous country and fastest-growing economy has enjoyed the global spotlight for over nine months, she said.

“In December 2022, India was president of the UN Security Council. In January 2023, India convened the Global South Summit, and in May 2023, India attended the G-7 and Quad summits in Japan,” she added.

“In July, India hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and participated in the expansion of the BRICS summit in South Africa,” Pande said.

India’s G20 presidency couldn’t have come at a better time, said M R Rangaswami, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Indiaspora.

“India is an ascending global power, and is positioning itself as a country that brings other nations together, literally and metaphorically,” he told PTI.

“India’s growing strength and its diaspora’s increasing visibility and impact across many different fields are mutually reinforcing and beneficial,” Rangaswami said.