G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Tuesday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde before the first Development Working Group Meeting in Mumbai. The first Development Working Group (DWG) Meeting in Mumbai kicked off on Tuesday and will end on December 16.
Addressing mediapersons on Tuesday, Amitabh Kant outlined India’s DWG G20 priorities and approach. Since 2010, the Development Working Group has been acting as a custodian of the development agenda in the G20.
After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals in 2015, DWG has steered the alignment of the development agenda of the G20 with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given the nature of its work, the DWG has dealt with several different issues over the last decade depending on the priorities of the Presidency.
Kant said the challenges the world faces today can only be solved by working together. “Our priorities reflect not only the aspirations of G20 Members, but also of the Global South. India is pursuing an inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented approach,” he said. Kant outlined India’s DWG priorities as Green Development, including climate action and financing, just energy transitions and LiFE (LifeStyle for Environment), accelerating the implementation of SDGs and Digital Public Goods/Data for Development.
He added that DWG conversations would also include debt distress, reformed multilateralism and women-led development and that India will highlight the importance of inclusive growth and collective action to achieve it. Kant recalled that a new workstream on Disaster Risk Reduction has been established under India’s Presidency to encourage collective work, multi-disciplinary research and the exchange of best practices on disaster risk reduction.
In addition, a new Startup20 Engagement Group has also been initiated under India’s G20 Presidency, recognising the role of startups in driving innovation that responds to a rapidly changing global scenario. The three-day meeting will focus on G20 collective actions for accelerating progress on the SDGs, support to developing countries in dealing with immediate concerns relating to food and energy security and debt distress and a 2023 G20 New Delhi Update on SDGs.
Cultural programs showcasing Maharashtra’s rich cultural heritage have been arranged for the G20 delegates with the help of the state government. India officially assumed the G20 presidency on December 1.
