India to host G20 Summit in Sept 2023, hold over 200 meetings during its Presidency

India, as G20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest countries, said the MEA.

While India’s G20 priorities are in the process of being firmed up, the MEA statement said: “Ongoing conversations…revolve around inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth; 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; 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.”

“During our Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form 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,” said the MEA in a statement.

The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries—Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, and the US—and the European Union (EU).

Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation. India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India.

The G20 currently comprises:

# Finance Track, with 8 work streams (Global Macroeconomic Policies, Infrastructure Financing, International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion, Health Finance, International Taxation, Financial Sector Reforms).

# Sherpa Track, with 12 work streams (Anti-corruption, Agriculture, Culture, Development, Digital Economy, Employment, Environment and Climate, Education, Energy Transition, Health, Trade and Investment, Tourism)

# 10 Engagement Groups of private sector/civil society/independent bodies (Business 20, Civil 20, Labour 20, Parliament 20, Science 20, Supreme Audit Institutions 20, Think 20, Urban 20, Women 20 and Youth 20).

In addition to G20 members, there has been a tradition of the G20 Presidency inviting some guest countries and international organisations to its meetings and summit.

Accordingly, in addition to regular international organisations (UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB and OECD) and chairs of regional organisations (AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN), India, as G20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE as guest countries, as well as International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and Asian Development Bank (ADB) as guest international organisations.