Delhi Declaration: Meet G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant, other Indian diplomats behind communique

The G20 on Saturday adopted the ‘Delhi Declaration’. The  37-page document came as a major victory for New Delhi after the Russia-Ukraine war and climate change had emerged as major stumbling blocks in the days leading up to the summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announcing that a consensus had been reached among member states, sounded a clarion call to address the ‘global trust deficit’ Modi, reiterating his earlier statement to Russia’s Vladimir Putin that ‘today’s era must not be of war’, urged all nations to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty and “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine". Modi further thanked the diplomats for their hard work to achieve consensus on the document. But who are the diplomats behind the Delhi Declaration? Let’s take a closer look: G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant India’s team was led by its G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant. Kant replaced India’s previous G20 sherpa Piyush Goyal.

Kant is a retired 1980 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre.

Kant previously worked in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. As per Indian Express, Kant has played a critical role in a slew of big initiatives including Startup India, Make in India, and Incredible India.

Kant is said to have come up with the “Kerala: God’s Own Country” slogan during his time in the cadre. He was appointed NITI Aayog CEO for a two-year term on 17 February, 2016 – replacing former IAS officer Sindhushree Khullar. Kant during his time at Niti Aayog handled complex political matters like the Aspirational Districts programme. He received three extensions during his tenure – finishing his term on 30 June. Kant was also the head of Empowered Group, one of the 11 organisations the Centre established to combat the COVID-19 epidemic. He helmed the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), as per Indian Express. Abhay Thakur Abhay Thakur is the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs

The 1992 batch IFS officer served as Kant’s deputy at the G20 summit – that is as the Sous sherpa.

Thakur is ex-High Commissioner to Mauritius and Nigeria (with Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Economic Community of West African States. [caption id=“attachment_13106802” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Abhay Thakur is the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Image courtesy: Twitter[/caption] According to Indian Express, Thakur in the MEA has been responsible for Nepal and Bhutan. He is said to be fluent in Russian. Eenam Gambhir According to the Aspen Institute website_,_ Gambir is a joint secretary in the G20 Secretariat as well as the Ministry of External Affairs. The 2005-batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, and sole woman on the team, was in charge of planning for India’s G20 presidency as well as handling issues related to the G20. Gambhir joined the external affairs ministry in 2005. She previously served in the Office of the President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. She was senior adviser on Peace and Security issues.

She also worked on economic and social issues as a young diplomat.

Gambhir has worked at Indian embassies in Latin American nations such as Mexico and Argentina. She has handled issues regarding India’s neighbourhood particularly Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in different capacities while serving in New Delhi from 2011 till 2016. She served on the Pakistan desk at India’s external affairs ministry. Gambhir was on the permanent mission of India to the UN in New York. She handled issues related to politics, peace and security till June 2019. Gambhir in September 2016 as India’s First Secretary to the United Nations had delivered India’s Right of Reply to then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s UN General Assembly address. [caption id=“attachment_13106762” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Eenam Gambhir giving India’s fiery right of reply speech at the UN. PTI[/caption] Gambhir in a fiery speech said, “The world has not yet forgotten that the trail of that dastardly attack led all the way to Abbottabad in Pakistan. The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism. It attracts aspirants and apprentices from all over the world. The effect of its toxic curriculum are felt across the globe.” Gambhir had again delivered the Right of Reply when Islamabad’s then UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi had responded to then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s address to the UN General Debate. In 2017, Gambhir again took on then Pakistan prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Speaking in India’s Right of Reply, Gambhir said, “In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror. The quest for a land of pure has actually produced ’the land of pure terror’. Pakistan is now Terroristan… Its current state can be gauged from the fact that Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, a leader of the United Nations designated terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, is now sought to be legitimised as a leader of a political party.” She holds two Master’s degrees – of sciences in mathematics from Delhi University and Master’s in advanced international security from the University of Geneva. She speaks Hindi, English and  Spanish fluently. Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur Naidu, a 1998-batch IFS officer, is a joint secretary at the MEA. The career diplomat speaks Chinese fluently. He represented India in China in four stints at Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, as per Indian Express.

Naidu was the lead negotiator on the language regarding the Ukraine war.

Naidu served the MEA’s Economic Diplomacy division and headed up the Europe West Division from 2017 to 2018. Serving as joint secretary/director general of the Europe West Division, he was responsible for India’s bilateral political engagement with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and the European Union. Naidu was the Chef de Cabinet to the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The president, Abdullah Shahid, described Naidu as “a truly outstanding diplomat, a steady hand in crisis, committed and hardworking,” as per News18. Naidu was also Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from January 2019. Between 2003 and 2006, he served as Consul (Political and Commercial) at the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong. From 2009 to 2012, he served as First Secretary and Counsellor (Economic & Commercial Affairs) at the Indian Embassy in Beijing. He took over as the Consul General at the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou, China from 2013 to 2015. After his return to the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi, Naidu served as the Joint Secretary/Director General of the Economic Diplomacy Division in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2015 to 2017. During his term, the Economic Diplomacy Division of the MEA was given the “SKOCH Platinum First Prize for Smart Governance” in 2017. Naidu was also the National Coordinator for establishing the treaty-based body International Solar Alliance in India (which has General Assembly Observer status). He also served as a Board member in a number of Public Sector organizations including India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), Water & Power Consultancy Services Ltd. (WAPCOS), Invest India, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). Naidu has a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (2008). He is married and has two children. Ashish Sinha As per News18, Sinha is a 2005 batch IFS officer. As per Indian Express, Sinha served in the External Affairs Minister’s office.

He also worked as a desk officer for Pakistan.

Serving in a slew of postings including  Madrid, Kathmandu, New York and Nairobi, he has spent the past seven years negotiating for India in multilateral settings. Sinha is said to be fluent in Spanish, as per News18. ‘Took 200 hours’ Kant on Sunday took to social media to praise his team of diplomats for delivering the G20 declaration. The G20 sherpa said it took more than ‘200 hours of non-stop’ negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings and 15 circulated drafts to reach the consensus. Kant praised Gambhir and Naidu as ‘brilliant officers’.

Kant said the New Delhi Declaration adopted by the G20 leaders  Saturday focusses on strong and sustainable growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals, green development pact, and reinvigorating multilateralism. “Today’s era must be marked as the golden age of human-centric globalisation and India’s G20 Presidency under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked tirelessly towards this goal,” Kant said in a series of posts on X. Kant said the G20 Declaration was historical and path-breaking with 100 per cent consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues. His efforts received praise from senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor hailed Kant for achieving a consensus on the ‘Delhi Declaration’ and called it a “proud moment for India at G20”. Tagging Kant’s remarks in an interview on how the consensus was achieved on the paragraphs on Russia-Ukraine, Tharoor, a former under secretary-general, said in his post late Saturday night wrote in a post on X: “Well done @amitabhk87!Looks like the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS!” “‘Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,’ says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus. A proud moment for India at G20!” With inputs from agencies