Consensus was reached last night only: Amitabh Kant on Delhi Declaration

New Delhi: Amid euphoria over the G20 nations reaching a consensus on the Delhi Declaration, especially pertaining to the reference on Ukraine conflict amid pressure from Russia and China, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Saturday that the weight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name was needed to ensure a joint communique.

In an interview to a news channel, Kant said that ultimately the weight of Modi's name clinched the consensus over the language of the final declaration.

The Delhi Declaration urges all states to "refrain from use of force to seek territorial acquisition". However, there is no reference of Russia at all in the entire document.

This, Kant told the news channel, was a result of almost 200 hours of non-stop negotiations, and consensus was reached only on Friday night.

It was a joint effort of the Sherpas and emerging markets led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, and later Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia that put pressure on the G7 nations and brought them to the table, he said.

The Sherpa informed that from the first draft, the negotiations moved on to a second one and then to a third one, while bilateral meetings with all countries also helped.

After this, India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia along with Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia worked together to apply pressure, Kant told the news channel.