Kumarakom: The Second G20 Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency, chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant is currently underway in the picturesque village of  Kumarakom, Kerala, from Mar 30 to Apr 2, officials said.

The four-day gathering of over 120 delegates from G20 Members, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organizations will hold multilateral discussions on G20’s economic and developmental priorities as well as on addressing contemporary global challenges.

The deliberations will focus both on policy approaches and concrete implementation.

The 2nd Sherpas Meeting will work on a range of cross-cutting issues of global concern, and will encompass the work being done under the 13 Working Groups within the Sherpa track.

Further, 11 Engagement Groups and 4 Initiatives (Research and Innovations Initiative Gathering or RIIG, Empower, Space Economy Leaders’ Meeting or SELM and Chief Scientific Advisers Roundtable or CSAR) are also feeding policy recommendations from the perspectives of the civil society, private sector, academia, women, youth, scientific advancement and research.

The deliberations of the Sherpa Meetings will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track Meetings, and will form the basis of the Leaders’ Declaration, slated to be adopted at the New Delhi Summit in September 2023.

India has selected its G20 priorities keeping in view the diverse global challenges of the day, the concerns of developing countries as well as the need for greater momentum for collective action to take forward the shared international agenda, especially the development and environment agenda.

In this context, India’s G20 theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” - “One Earth. One Family.

One Future” aptly encapsulates the shared vision of the G20 for galvanising wide support and arriving at decisive, ambitious, inclusive, and action-oriented outcomes. Such outcomes require the G20 to come together and act as one family to instil hope.

Ongoing deliberations during India’s G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance & Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE); Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth; Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure; Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century; and Women-led development.

These priorities reflect the needs of the Global South, articulated by 125 participating countries, at the first ever Voice of Global South summit, hosted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in January 2023.

The Meeting will kick start on 30 March 2023 with two high level side-events on (i) Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI); and (ii) Green Development. The Digital Public Infrastructure side-event, to be organised in partnership with NASSCOM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), will begin with an immersive digital experience for all G20 delegates, followed by multiple panel discussions on global challenges and opportunities for building a growth-oriented and inclusive DPI. The DPI Side event will be addressed by Nandan Nilekani (Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited), Thierry Breton (Commissioner for Internal Market of the

European Union), Priya Vora (Managing Director of the Digital Impact Alliance, and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute) and Pramod Varma (CTO of EkStep Foundation, and ex-Chief Architect of Aadhaar).

The side-event on Green Development, to be organized in partnership with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in India (UNRC) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), will provide in-depth perspectives on global efforts needed to drive a new vision of green development, one that maximizes synergies in our efforts to achieve developmental  and environmental goals through a conducive and revamped international environment and a policy framework that is adaptive, proactive, and responsive to the needs and challenges of developing countries.

The Green Development Side event will be addressed by Jeffrey Sachs (Director, Centre for Sustainable Development, Columbia University), Avinash Persaud (Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services; and Member, Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance) and other panelists.

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil.

He will meet with G20 Sherpas and Heads of Delegations of G20 Members, invitees and international organizations including from the Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) to deliberate on issues pertinent to the Global South, as well as from the Advanced Economies (AEs) on shared priorities and mutually beneficial ways forward.

The delegates will also be hosted for ‘Charchayum Aaharavum’ (Conversations over Dinner) and cultural programmes, a mini Thrissur Pooram experience, a traditional Onam Sadhya lunch, and Chaya Vallom (Tea on Boat) among other experiences, giving them the unique opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural heritage and diverse cuisine of Kerala, curated in close cooperation with the State Government.