India Assumes Presidency of G20, Summit to Be Held in New Delhi on September 2023

India will assume the presidency of the G20 for one year starting December 1 this year, the external affairs ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. The next G20 summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9 and September 10, 2023. India will now host over 200 G20 meetings across the country which will begin in December this year. India will retain the presidency until November 30, 2023.

The G20 presidency keeps on rotating every year with every year among its members. The country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’.

“This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them a greater voice,” the MEA said in its release.

Indonesia holds the current presidency and India alongside Italy and Indonesia formed the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda. As Indonesia finishes hosting the G20 summit this year in Bali in November, the new Troika will include Indonesia, India and Brazil.

The G20 comprises the world’s largest economies and is an intergovernmental forum. There are 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA – and the European Union (EU) who are the members of the G20.

Spain is included in the grouping as a ‘permanent guest’.

Together these nations account for 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world population.

Ahead of the final leadership summit, the G20 nations will hold meetings via their representatives who are also known as ‘Sherpas’. Until now, Union minister Piyush Goyal was India’s G20 Sherpa.

Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is new G20 Sherpa. He will arrange and hold different meetings related to the G20 agenda until the leadership summit and till Brazil assumes the presidency for the 2024 meet.

The G20 process is demarcated into the Sherpa track and the Finance track.

Meetings related to anti-corruption, agriculture, culture, development, digital economy, employment, environment and climate, education, energy transition, health, trade and investment, tourism will be held under the Sherpa Track. These topics on which meetings will be held are classified as ‘workstreams’.

Meetings related to global macroeconomic policies, infrastructure financing, international financial architecture, sustainable finance, financial inclusion, health finance, international taxation, financial sector reforms fall under the finance track.

Civil society, the private sector and independent bodies of the G20 members will also meet under the ambit of Business 20, Civil 20, Labour 20, Parliament 20, Science 20, Supreme Audit Institutions 20, Think 20, Urban 20, Women 20 and Youth 20 across the country starting December.

India, following the tradition of the G20 Presidency of inviting guest nations and international organizations, will invite Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE. International organizations like the ISA (International Solar Alliance), CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) will also be invited along with the regular international organizations like the UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB and OECD.

The chairs of regional organizations AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN shall also be invited.

India will also hold meetings during its presidency to discuss issues revolving around inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth. Meetings around LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment), women’s empowerment, digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture and education to commerce, skill-mapping, culture and tourism will also be held.

Meetings to discuss climate financing, circular economy, global food security, energy security, green hydrogen, disaster risk reduction and resilience, developmental cooperation, fight against economic crime, and multilateral reforms will also be held.

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