Modi was handed over the gavel by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo who holds the outgoing Presidency of the G-20 grouping. With just a fortnight before India takes over the Presidency formally on December 1, he said, “Over the next one year, we will strive to ensure that the G-20 acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action.”

President of Indonesia @jokowi hands over the G20 Presidency to India at the closing ceremony of the Bali Summit @g20org#G20BaliSummit #PMinIndonesia pic.twitter.com/wdbPtshX7s

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Highlighting the key issues and priorities, the Prime Minister said, “The sense of ownership over natural resources is giving rise to conflict today, and has become the main cause of the plight of the environment… For the safe future of the planet, the sense of trusteeship is the solution. LiFE i.e., ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ campaign canmake a big contribution to this. Its purpose is to make sustainable lifestyles a mass movement.”

“The need today is that the benefits of development are universal and all-inclusive. We have to extend the benefits of development to all human beings with compassion and solidarity,” he said.

In the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, Modi also flagged concerns of peace and security in the world. “Without peace and security, our future generations will not be able to take advantage of economic growth or technological innovation. The G-20 has to convey a strong message in favour of peace and harmony,” he said.

“All these priorities are fully embodied in the theme of India’s G-20 Chairmanship – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’,” the Prime Minister said, linking the priorities with the theme of India’s G-20 Presidency.

He said global development was not possible without women’s participation. “We have to maintain priority on women-led development even in our G-20 agenda,” the Prime Minister said.

Invoking a sense of pride among Indians on the G-20 Presidency, Modi said, “It is a proud occasion for every Indian to assume the G-20 Presidency. We will organize G-20 meetings in different cities and states of our country. Our guests will get full experience of India’s amazing diversity, inclusive traditions, and cultural richness.”

Besides the G-20 leaders, nine guest countries will also be coming to India on September 9 and 10 next year. Expressing hope they will take part in the meetings in the country, which is the “mother of democracy”, he said, “Together, we will make the G-20, a catalyst for global change.”

He congratulated Indonesian President Widodo for his “efficient leadership” to the G-20 during these “difficult times”. “India will strive to take forward Indonesia’s commendable initiatives during its G-20 Presidency,” he said, adding it is a “very auspicious coincidence” for the country to take over the Presidency in this “holy island of Bali” with which India has an age-old relationship.

Earlier in the day, he spoke at a session on “digital transformation”, where he said, “Digital transformation is the most remarkable change of our era. The proper use of digital technologies can become a force multiplier in the decades-long global fight against poverty. Digital solutions can also be helpful in the fight against climate change – as we all saw in the examples of remote-working and paperless green offices during Covid. But these benefits will be realized only when the digital access is truly inclusive and when the use of digital technology is really widespread. Unfortunately, till now we have seen this powerful tool only from the criteria of simple business, keeping this power tied in the ledgers of profit and loss.”

He cited India’s experience of the past few years, which he said, that “it has shown us that if we make digital architecture inclusive, it can bring about socio-economic transformation. Digital use can bring scale and speed. Transparency can be brought in governance”.