22 January 2023
G20 SUMMIT 2023
G20 – B20 INCEPTION MEET AT GANDHI NAGAR, GUJARAT
In Gujarat, The Business 20 (B20) Inception Meeting, the official G20 dialogue forum was inaugurated on 22 January as part of India’s G20 Presidency. Gandhinagar hosts the first three-day meeting and the other 14 events will be held in other cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Surat and Statue of Unity at Kevadiya.
The Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for railways Ashwini Vaishnav, and India’s Sherpa to G20, Amitabh Kant attended the opening session of the B20 Meet.
The deliberation will be held on issues of Climate change, innovation, global digital cooperation and resilient global value chains under the theme of ‘RAISE’ – Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and Equitable Business.
Nearly 600 business leaders including 250 international delegates are participating in the meeting. Several plenary sessions on various issues will be held and there will be a dedicated session on ‘Opportunities in the state of Gujarat’ during the three-day Business Meet.
“The G20 presidency is an opportunity to solidify India’s position as a world leader. In an increasingly polarised world, building consensus seems like a tough order. However, through our intervention in Bali, we have demonstrated leadership, and emerged as consensus builders. The world is now looking to India to chart a new course of development and prosperity. New India stands ready to take up this mantle and lead the world on a path of sustainable and inclusive growth.” says Amitabh Kanth, G20 Sherpa and former CEO, NITI Aayog.
G20 representatives will visit GIFT city, India’s maiden Financial Tech city and a Special guided Yoga Session has been planned at Gandhi Nagar. The delegates will also be taken on an Eco tour and will be informed on the traditional Indian Ayurveda medicines.
G20 HEALTH MEET
Earlier, Union Minister of State for Health Dr. Bharti Praveen Pawar inaugurated the three-day G20 Health Working Group Meet at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 18 January 2023. Many representatives from the G20 member states and other delegates from various international organisations attended the G20 Health Working Group meeting, a major platform of discussion on various challenges in the health sector and focussing on ‘Universal Health’.
The Thematic discussions on the following priorities were held in the G20 Health Meet.
* Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response
* Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics)
* Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery
On the final day of the meeting, discussions on strengthening medical value travel and also on holistic health care through the integration of traditional methods of treatment like Ayurveda and potential of digital health systems were held.
The delegates visited Kim’s Hospital, Somateeram Ayurveda Village and Kovalam Arts and Crafts Village as a side event on Medical Value Travel and integrative therapies during the meet.
Health experts, representatives from G20 countries, international organizations and senior officials of the Ministry of Health participated in the meeting.
G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) Meeting held at Pune
The two-day meeting on the theme – Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable was held at Pune discussed on various topics of ‘making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, the role of cities in meeting sustainability targets, directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and mitigating social imbalances’.
In the Pune High Level Workshop, delegates from various G20 countries discussed how the cities of tomorrow must work together on administrative functions, planning, funding, and financing to increase private sector participation.
The meeting focussed on technical and managerial capacity needs to build the Cities of Tomorrow and other important themes such as exploring ways to collate the data on Infrastructure spending and make the data for the private sector also.
During the IWG meeting, the delegates also had the opportunity to experience the rich cuisine, history and culture of Pune. 64 members from 18 member countries attended G20 IWG.
The second meeting of the Infrastructure Working Group is scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on 28th and 29th of March, 2023.
Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion held during 9-11 January 2023
Discussed global macroeconomic issues like monitoring of global economic risks, reforms for a more stable and resilient global financial architecture, international taxation, financing quality infrastructure, sustainable finance, financial inclusion, financial sector reforms and financing for future health emergencies and investments in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
The meeting confirmed India’s commitedness in solving the concerns of countries most in need and the aspirations of the developing countries.
The Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India will steer the G20 Finance Track agenda in the forthcoming meetings.
The upcoming Meetings/events of the G20 Summit
* International Financial Architecture Working Group during 30-31 Jan 2023 (Chennai)
* Employment Working Group Meet during 31Jan – 2 Feb2023 (Jodhpur)
* Sustainable Finance Working Group Meet during 2-3 Feb 2023 ( Guwahati)
* Energy Transitions Working Group Meet during 5 – 7 Feb 2023 ( Bengaluru)
* Tourism Working Group Meet during 7 – 9 Feb 2023 (Rann of Kutch)
* Environment and Climate Working Group Meet during 9 – 11 Feb 2023 (Bengaluru)
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place on 9th-10th September 2023 in New Delhi with a declaration of the G20 leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon in the ministerial and working group meetings.
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 and upgraded to the level of Heads of State in 2007 and later in 2009, designated as the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.
The G20 Summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency and the Group comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, UK, US and the European Union. G20 represents 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 percent of the global trade and about two-third of the world population.
The theme of India’s G20 Presidency – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth · One Family · One Future”, affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe. It is taken from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad and represents our vision of harmony with the ecosystem of the universe.
“The essence of India’s presidency,“One Earth, One Family, One Future” will be reflected in our priorities. As spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s presidency will be ambitious, inclusive, decisive and action-oriented,” says Amitabh Kanth, G20 Sherpa and former CEO, NITI Aayog.
The logo and the theme convey a powerful message of India’s G20 Presidency which is holistic, equitable, responsible and inclusive.
