The G20 or the Group of Twenty was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia. It aims to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries. 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 United Kingdom, and the United States), and the European Union.

As a forum for international economic cooperation, it plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues. At the end of the Summit, a G20 Leaders' Declaration will be adopted.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be held in New Delhi, the national capital of India. The Summit will be held on September 9 and 10, 2023 at the newly-built International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), named as 'Bharat Mandapam' in Delhi's Pragati Maidan complex. The venue of the Summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26, 2023, following which he dedicated the new convention centre to the nation. Constructed at a cost of around Rs 2,700 crore, the IECC is India’s largest convention and exhibition venue, with the capacity to hold 7,000 people in its multi-purpose and plenary halls combined — larger than the iconic Sydney Opera House.

India will host the G20 Summit 2023 on September 9 and 10. India assumed the presidency of the global meet on December 1, 2022. Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially handed over the G20 presidency to India on November 16 last year at the summit in Bali. The year-long presidency assumed by India came at a time when the world was struck with uncertainties about recovery from a pandemic-hit economy. During the time, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hailed India's position as the "voice of the Global South," and said that the country will “take the lead in pushing for collective action” on climate change, climate justice and sustainable development, which are often “side-tracked due to more dominant issues.”

US President Joe Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be among the top world leaders attending the G20 Summit 2023.

The Heads of State and government, and other delegates from the various member countries, as well as invitees, will also come to New Delhi for the G20 Summit. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 Summit. While Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the G20 Summit, Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Besides international organisations such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, International Labour Organization, Financial Stability Board and The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and chairs of regional organisations (AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN), India, as G20 President, has also invited 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.

The G20 Summit 2023 will begin in India on September 9 and will continue till September 10. On the second day, a G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted, which will reflect the priorities and commitments discussed in the various ministerial and working group meetings throughout the year.

Since the time it assumed presidency of the G20 Summit in December 2022, India, until last month, organised about 185 meetings, including 13 ministerial-level meetings, according to the country's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant. This included meetings of finance ministers and Central Bank governors, and other ministerial meetings on Health, Tourism, Agriculture, Climate, etc. Twelve outcome documents and 12 other deliverables had been adopted with consensus but no joint communique has been adopted yet.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be held on September 9 and 10, 2023 at the newly-built International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), named as 'Bharat Mandapam' in Delhi's Pragati Maidan complex. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26, 2023, following which he dedicated the new convention centre to the nation. Spread over 53,399 sqm, the Bharat Mandapam is India’s largest conference and exhibition venue. The central idea that has instructed its design is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', which is also the theme for India's ongoing G20 presidency.

The main aim of India as the president of the G20 Summit 2023 is to amplify the voice of the Global South, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the Voice of Global South summit in January 2023. India has been positioning itself as the "voice of the Global South" (a reference to the developing and the less-developed countries) and putting its priorities on the global stage.

The G20, whose members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population, serves as a forum for international economic cooperation. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's leadership of the G20 will aim to be "inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented," against emerging "geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices, and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic."

The G20 Summit 2023 will be chaired by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India will be represented by Amitabh Kant, the former CEO of NITI Aayog, as the G20 sherpa responsible for planning, negotiating and implementing activities around the Summit.

The ultimate outcome of the G20 Summit, that is the Leaders' Declaration, is prepared by the Sherpas of all member nations along with the Finance Track representatives on the concluding day.

According to the official website of G20, the theme of the Summit is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future”. The idea of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' comes from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad. The theme defined the design of the venue of the Summit, that is, 'Bharat Mandapam' in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan complex. The website says, "Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe."

India assumed the presidency of the G20 Summit on December 1, 2022. Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially handed over the G20 presidency to India on November 16 last year at the summit in Bali. The G20 presidency is rotated among its members who (except the EU) are divided into five groups. The president country is responsible for determining the agenda of the meeting for a year, in consultation with other members as well as pertinent global developments. It organises various meetings prior to the G20 Leaders' Summit, which is a culmination of all the work done by the group at lower levels through the year. The G20 president also has the prerogative to send invitations to other guest countries and organisations to take part in G20 processes for the year.

The first Sherpa meeting of India's G20 presidency was held on December 4, 2022 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. A series of interactions took place between Sherpas and delegations of various G20 nations, during which India pointed out at its role as the voice of the Global South. Formal discussions focused on key global issues of inclusive growth, multilateralism, and women-led development, tourism, culture, technological transformations, green development climate finance, sustainability and more.