Beyond the immediate outcomes of the G-20 Summit, one key takeaway with longer term implications is the positioning of India as a key bridge to the “Global South” for Japan and the West, in the view of Japanese experts.
“Japan sees a rivalry over the leadership of the ‘Global South’ between India and China, and it is in the interest of Japan and the G-7 that India plays a leading role in the ‘Global South’, not China,” said Hiroyuki Akita, Tokyo-based strategic affairs commentator at Nikkei, in an interview with The Hindu.
Mr. Akita said that was one of the key issues for Japan in the lead-up to this year’s G-20, so much so that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the May meeting of the G-7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.) in Hiroshima.
