G20 Sherpas meet to shape agenda of India’s presidency
NEW DELHI: Top officials of the world’s 20 largest economies began deliberations in Udaipur on Monday to shape the agenda for India’s G20 presidency, with their first session focused on technological transformation.
The G20 Sherpas or personal representatives of the heads of state and government and top officials of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank will participate in two sessions at Taj Fateh Prakash Hotel on the bank of Lake Pichola.
The first session of discussions on Monday will focus on technological transformation in the digital economy, health and education, while the second will be on green development and India’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative.
“These deliberations will set the agenda for India’s G20 presidency. India’s G20 Sherpa will brief his counterparts from the other countries about India’s expectations and get the ball rolling for the hundreds of upcoming meetings,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
There will be three more sessions on Tuesday that will focus on accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, multilateralism and food, fuel and fertilisers, and women-led development, tourism and culture.
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will guide the deliberations at these sessions and all the G20 Sherpas, representatives of multilateral bodies such as the United Nations and World Bank and officials from nine guest countries invited by New Delhi will participate in the discussions. The deliberations began as a Group of Seven (G7) price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into force on Monday as part of efforts by Western powers to limit Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.
With the divisions created by the Ukraine crisis hovering over the G20, the Indian side has said it will focus on ensuring inclusive growth during the overarching deliberations on the course to be taken by the G20 in the coming year.
On Sunday, Kant had highlighted the challenges facing the world community – a massive geo-political crisis in Europe, the breakdown of global supply chains, 70 countries affected by global debt, and the pressing issue of climate action and climate finance. He said these were compounded by issues such as literacy, health, vast segments of populations falling below the poverty line due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation and slowdown of global growth.
“At this moment of crisis, India is taking over the presidency of the G20. Our belief is that every crisis is a huge opportunity and leadership is about finding path-breaking solutions in the midst of crisis,” he said. The Sherpas have the onerous responsibility “to look beyond the immediate crises and shape a new future”, as well as reaching consensus on a vast range of challenging issues during their deliberations over the next two days, Kant said.
In a speech outlining India’s priorities, Kant said the country’s G20 presidency will seek to advocate oneness in line with the theme of ‘One Earth One Family One Future’, and reflect not just the aspirations of G20 partners, but also of the “Global South, whose voice is often unheard”.
“The challenges that we face today can be solved only by working together through hope, harmony and healing and our first concern should be towards those whose need is greatest. Therefore, we need to focus on the Global South as well,” he said.