India’s G20 Presidency: Opportunity to Resume Engagement in the Arctic

India's theme of its recently assumed presidency of the G20, and its Arctic Policy, released in 2022, both encapsulate the idea that the world is one family—Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or 'One Earth·One Family·One Future', resonant with the interconnectedness of the Arctic with the rest of the world. [...] In protest against Russia's actions, on 3 March 2022, seven1 (A7) of the eight members of the Arctic Council (AC), announced a historic suspension of participation in all activities of the council.2 This was followed on the same day by the Nordic Council of Ministers.3 This unprecedented step, taken for the first time since the formation of AC in 1996, came at the time of Russia’s presidency, for. [...] Reiterating that exclusion of Russia from the scientific research in the Arctic is irrational and not in the long-term interests of both the Arctic and non-Arctic states, he calls for joint international efforts to strive for resumption of scientific exchange in the region. [...] They are also the source of the main rivers in India, including the Ganga and Brahmaputra, the basins of which support a population of about 600 million and 177 million respectively31 and generate over 40 per cent of India's GDP.32 The study of the Arctic is therefore critical to Indian scientists and it is for this reason that India is the only developing country, apart from China, to have a perm. [...] Since the immediate resumption of scientific engagement in the Arctic is the need of the hour, the Sherpa Track can be used to expeditiously revive scientific engagement in the Arctic.