G7 business group endorses India's G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'

The 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' theme affirms the value of all life - human, animal, plant and their interconnectedness

Top business executives of G7 countries have endorsed India's G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' and said it is essential to achieve sustainable growth that is compatible with the protection of the global environment.

Unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, the theme of India's G20 Presidency - 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' - is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad.

Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life - human, animal, plant and microorganisms - and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.

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Representative business federations of the G7 - Japan, Italy, Canada, France, the US, the UK, Germany, and the European Union - held the B7 Tokyo Summit on April 19-20, ahead of the G7 Summit meeting in Japan later this month.

"Through creating a problem-solving society that is equipped with both digital technology and creativity and imagination of diverse people, it is essential to first achieve sustainable growth in a way that is compatible with the protection of the global environment and to distribute the fruits in a fair and equitable manner, which is conducive to 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' as the theme of India's G20 Presidency,” said the B7 in a declaration following two days of brain-storming sessions.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year. India is hosting more than 200 G-20 events in over 50 cities across the country.

At the B7 Summit, the American delegation was led by the US Chamber of Commerce represented by five of its top leaders.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met the group and promised to use the input from B7 in preparing the G7 Summit in May, US Chambers of Commerce said in a statement.

Hosted by Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) in Tokyo, the B7, as reflected in its declaration, agreed on the most important efforts to mitigate immediate and long-term challenges.

“We called on our governments to remove barriers to international trade and investment in an effort that may eventually take the form of a 'G7 Trade Club' open to nations committed to high standards of free trade.

"Such a grouping would work to overcome protectionist pressures and combat economic coercion directed against its members and allies, as envisaged by the G7 Foreign Ministers,” the US Chambers of Commerce said.

The B7 declaration, released by the Japan Business Federation, said they oppose any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine.

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In the Indo-Pacific which also faces growing challenges, from actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order by China to provocations by North Korea, continued and strenuous efforts must be made by the G7 countries to rebuild the free, open and rules-based international order, it said.

“Developing countries are the most affected by a divided world and risk losing their potential for future growth.

"Cooperation with the Global South is indispensable to rebuilding the free and open international economic order, overcoming global challenges, and realising a sustainable international community built on principles of equality," B7 said.

The climate change issue cannot be solved without the involvement of the Global South in reducing CO2 emissions while pursuing their legitimate growth and development objectives, it said.

The B7 declaration said that G7 should address economic coercion by third-world countries through increased cooperation and coordination among G7 members.

“International fora such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and the Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) can contribute as a framework for cooperation and coordination.

"For instance, the G7 can jointly identify choke points that the country concerned could utilise to impose economic coercion and work with like-minded countries and their industries to increase resilience by exploring or creating alternative sources among them,” it said.

The G7 can organise those countries, from which the country concerned imports vital goods, into a group that would threaten to cut off the country's access to the vital goods if the country should act against any single group member, it added.

“In addition to these collective-resilience measures, each G7 government, private sector, and relevant stakeholders could champion international standards of cutting-edge technologies, such as through utilising existing EPAs/FTAs, to gain a competitive advantage,” B7 said.