G20 declaration: Shashi Tharoor praises Amitabh Kant for his negotiation skills
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New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that Indian Foreign Service( IFS) lost an ace diplomat when G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant opted to become an IAS officer.
Tharoor showered praised on Kant after his herculean task won over differing representatives of G20 members to reach consensus on a joint communiqué over Ukraine war.
Kant reportedly pulled off the impossible of bringing Russia and China to the joint statement by tirelessly engaging them.
The Lok Sabha MP Kerala made no scruples in praising Kant saying that it is ‘ proud moment’ for India at G20.
‘Well done Amitabh Kant! Looks lile (sic) the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS,’ Tharoor said on social media platform X.
Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, earlier told NDTV that that the joint declaration had required nearly 200 hours of "nonstop negotiations".
The consensus reached late Friday night after multiple rounds talks with developing economies about topics ranging from the war’s impact to bilateral meets with Russia and China, according to the report.
Kant also stated that the joint efforts of emerging markets led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia and others incuding Mexico, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia brought G7 nations to the table.
‘(There were) close to 200 hours of nonstop negotiations... the Bali paragraph had broken down and we were struggling for nine months. Then, in one meeting, I took a plain screen and scribbled 15 basic principles we needed to follow. All sherpas then joined in and gave their perspectives, Kant reportedly said.
Sharing the excitement he said that ‘nobody really expected that we would arrive at a consensus’ adding that ‘From the first draft we went to a second... and a third. After that, I think what helped were bilateral meets with each country.’
