The second G20 Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is set to begin in Kerala's Kumarakom village on Thursday. The meet, which will be chaired by India's Sherpa Amitabh Kant, will conclude on April 2.
More than 120 delegates from 20 biggest economies of the world, nine invitee countries along with international and regional organisations will be participating in this meet, reported news agency ANI.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the meet will focus on issues ranging from G20's economic and developmental priorities to addressing contemporary global challenges with an array of other issues during the four-day discussion.
This meet will work on a range of issues that are of global concern and it will also encompass the work being done under the 13 Working Groups within the Sherpa track. The discussion's key focus areas will be policy approaches and their concrete implementation
As per the release, the deliberations will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track meetings. The discussions will form the basis of the Leaders declaration which is slated to be adopted at the summit in New Delhi which will take place in September 2023, reported ANI.
11 engagement groups and four initiatives - Research and Innovations Initiative Gathering or RIIG, Empower, Space Economy Leaders' Meeting or SELM, and Chief Scientific Advisers Roundtable or CSAR are also making policy recommendations from the perspectives of the civil society, private sector, academia, women, youth, scientific advancement, and research.
The meeting will begin with two high-level side events on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Green Development. Organised in partnership with NASSCOM, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), the Digital Public Infrastructure side-event will begin with an immersive digital experience for all G20 delegates, reported ANI.
It will be then followed by multiple panel discussions on global challenges and opportunities to create a growth-oriented and inclusive DPI.
DPI side event will be addressed by Infosys Co-Founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani, Commissioner for International Market of the European Union Thierry Breton, Digital Impact Alliance Managing Director and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute Priya Vora as well as CTO of EkStep Foundation, and ex-Chief Architect of Aadhaar Pramod Verma.
The side event on Green Development will be organised in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation and the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in India (UNRC). It'll be addressed by Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Centre for Sustainable Development, Columbia University; Avinash Persaud, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services and member, Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance and other panelists. The event will offer in-depth perspectives on the global efforts necessary to push a new vision of green development, one that maximises synergies in efforts to achieve developmental and environmental goals through a conducive and redesigned international environment and a policy framework that is adaptive, proactive, and responsive to the needs and challenges of developing countries.
Amitabh Kant will also lead the discussions with G20 Troika comprising nations such as India, Indonesia, and Brazil. He will meet other G20 Sherpas and heads of delegations, invitees, and international organisations including the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) in order to discuss the issues that are pertinent to the Global South and from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward.
In addition to other activities, the delegates will be hosted for "Charchayum Aaharavum" (Conversations over Dinner) and cultural programmes, including a miniature version of Thrissur Pooram, a traditional Onam Sadhya lunch, and Chaya Vallom (Tea on Boat). The G20 delegates through these experiences will have a unique opportunity to take advantage of Kerala's rich cultural history and diverse cuisine.
MEA's press release stated that India selected its G20 priorities after considering the diverse global challenges of the day, concerns of the developing countries along with the need for greater momentum to take collective action to take forward the common international agenda, especially the agenda on development and environment. India's G20 theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" which translates to "One Earth. One Family. One Future," summarises the shared vision of G20 for galvanising wide support and reach decisive, ambitious, inclusive and action-oriented outcomes.
Ongoing deliberations during India's G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development.
According to MEA, the aforementioned objectives show the demands of the Global South, which were articulated by 125 participating nations during the first-ever Voice of Global South summit. The Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023. Notably, the first G20 Sherpa meeting was held in Udaipur in December.