G20 meetings show truly whole of government approach : Amitabh Kant
- 21 December 2022 -

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Recent G 20 meetings show truly whole of government approach, showcase Indian culture, says Amitabh Kant.

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant gave a presentation and briefing on the recently held G 20 meetings to Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary PK Mishra. Kant informed Mishra about the support received from the States and Union Territories during the recent G20 meetings held over the past few weeks across India.

Sharing details regarding the meeting, Amitabh Kant said, “A truly whole of government approach and brilliant showcase of Indian culture.’ Notably, the meetings under India’s G20 presidency were held in Udaipur, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

The first meeting of the Development Working Group (DWG) under the G20 Sherpa Track was held with a side event on Data for Development working group started with opening remarks from India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Mohan Kwatra according to the press release issued by Ministry of External Affairs.

In his remarks, Vinay Mohan Kwatra highlighted India’s role as the voice of the Global South and introduced the key priorities of the working group, which includes harnessing data for development, mainstreaming Lifestyle for Environment (Life) globally, and accelerating progress on sustained development, digital transformation, and just green transitions.

The first G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting under India’s Presidency was held in Bengaluru from December 13-14. The meeting witnessed a gathering of more than 160 foreign delegates, including deputies from G20 member countries, invitee countries, and international Organisations, according to the press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Over the course of two days, seven discussion sessions and two side events were held. The delegates were given a glimpse of the traditional and contemporary culture of Karnataka through a vivid display of different art forms.

The first Sherpa meeting under India’s G20 Presidency was held in Udaipur from December 4-6. The first Sherpa meeting has set the tone for the forthcoming meetings in 32 different G20 work streams, including the Sherpa Track, Finance Track, and Engagement Groups.

The Substantive discussions on prevailing global challenges and the warm hospitality with the motto ‘ Atithi Deco Bhava’, resonated throughout the G20 Sherpas meeting.

Footnote: So, what is the G20?

The Group of Twenty (G20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States and the European Union.

The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues. It was upgraded to the level of Heads of State/Government in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007, and, in 2009, was designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.

What is the G20 Summit?

The G20 Summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency.

How does the G20 work?

The G20 Presidency steers the G20 agenda for one year and hosts the Summit. The G20 consists of two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors lead the Finance Track, while Sherpas lead the Sherpa Track.

The Finance Track is led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the member countries. Within the two tracks, there are thematically oriented working groups in which representatives from the relevant ministries of the members as well as from invited/guest countries and various international organisations participate.

The G20 process from the Sherpa Track is coordinated by the Sherpas of member countries, who are personal emissaries of the Leaders. The Sherpa Track oversees inputs from 13 Working Groups, 2 Initiatives – Research Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and G20 Empower, and various Engagement Groups, all of whom meet throughout the year and develop their Issue Notes and Outcome Documents in parallel.

These substantive discussions then feed consensus-based recommendations to the Sherpa Meetings. The outcome document of the Sherpa-level meetings eventually forms the basis of the Leaders' Declaration, which will be debated and signed (after and if consensus is reached) at the final New Delhi Summit in September next year by the Leaders of all G20 member countries.

Development Working Group (DWG)

The DWG meetings aims to discuss developmental issues in Developing Countries (DC), Least Developed Countries (LD) and Island Countries (Small Island Developing States/SIDS).

The DWG is a platform for G-20 member countries to come together and prioritize multilateralism, share solutions that promote growth, remap development plans and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal’s targets (SDG). The G-20 possesses the knowledge, expertise, financial resources required to reverse trajectories that have gone off track.]