New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that India has put forward an ambitious seven-year action plan for accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which presents a coordinated, integrated, and inclusive roadmap for G20 actions, while addressing the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. The event that began on Sunday will continue till June 13.
Speaking at the event, Jaishankar further stated "The action plan not only galvanizes a strong G20 commitment to the development agenda but also puts forward transformative actions on the three core agendas."
He added, "We make today have the potential to contribute to an inclusive, sustainable future."
The Ministry of External Affairs said that the meeting is held as part of India's G20 Presidency and will also see a special video address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
Jaishankar will chair the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting scheduled between June 11-13 and a total of 200 delegates are expected to attend the meeting.
The Development Ministers' Meeting in Varanasi takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
The G20 Development Ministerial meeting is an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries, the Ministry of External Affairs stated in its release.
The Varanasi gathering follows the Voice of the Global South Summit, which was hosted by India in January 2023.
The decisions made at the Varanasi meeting will also have an impact on the United Nations SDG Summit, which will be held in New York in September.