18th G20 Summit

Context: 

The 18th G20 Summit successfully concluded in New Delhi with India handing over the Presidency to Brazil.

More on News:

• The PM of India has proposed to hold another virtual review session of the G-20 Summit at the end of November.

Key Deliverables Under India’s G20 Presidency:

• India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor:
  • Aim: To integrate transport corridors between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe.

• • Participants: India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the UAE, France, Germany and Italy.
  • The project is a part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII).Significance of IMEC:
    • Offers an alternative to China’s BRI, focusing on transparency and climate-resilient infrastructure.
    • Enhances India’s self-reliance and aligns with initiatives like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

• Addition of African Union as a G20 New Permanent Member:
• Significance: G20’s Inclusivity Boost: This will make G20 more inclusive, deepen cooperation with Africa, and help realize its developmental aspirations.
  • Global Representation: It provides the AU with a platform for global representation and a voice in shaping international economic policies and decisions. 
  • Trade and Investment: The AU can advocate for fairer trade practices and increased investment in African economies. 
• Setting up of Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA):
  • India, Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mauritius and UAE, launched the Global Biofuel Alliance.
  • Aim: It is an international initiative aimed at promoting the development and deployment of biofuels as a low-carbon pathway to sustainable energy.
  • Significance: 
    • Bolster’s biofuels markets, 
    • Encourage the development of relevant standards, 
    • Facilitate sustainable global biofuels trade and information sharing, and 
    • Promote collaboration with international biofuels organizations. 
• Jaipur Call for Action for fostering access to information for MSMEs:
  • G20 ministers issued the ‘Jaipur Call for Action’ to:

• • • Enhance MSME Information: Improve access to information for MSMEs.ITC’s Role: Requested the International Trade Center (ITC), Geneva, to develop an implementation plan for upgrading its Global Trade Helpdesk to address MSMEs’ informational needs, in consultation with UNCTAD and WTO.
    • Other Consensus: Digitalization of trade documents, a G20 Generic Mapping Framework for Global Value Chains.
  • Significance: The Jaipur Call for Action and its successful implementation will support the accessibility of trade related information and will spur the integration of MSMEs in world trade. 
• Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle to achieve SDGs:
  • Goa Roadmap for Tourism: The Goa Roadmap is a key deliverable of India’s G20 Tourism Track. The roadmap focuses on five interconnected priorities:
    • Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, Tourism MSMEs and Destination Management
• Mainstreaming Lifestyles for Sustainable Development (LiFE):
  • G20 High-Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development (LiFE):
    • HLPs provide an impetus to ambitious actions for achieving development, environment and climate goals, with a focus on human-centric and pro-growth approach to climate action and sustainable economic growth. 
    • HLPs will promote Indian ethos, values, and ways of life.
  • Travel for LiFE:
    • Support the development of smart destinations that are responsible and sustainable. 
• Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap (GIR) & Gandhinagar Information Platform (GIP) for Priority Landscapes:
  • GIR and GIP will help restore land impacted by forest fires and mining, and reinforce the implementation of the G20 Global Land Initiative (GLI). 
  • This will support achieving the G20 ambition of reducing land degradation by 50% by 2040.
• Chennai High-Level Principles for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue/Ocean-based Economy:
  • HLPs will help address sustainable economic growth, protection, conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the marine environment, social equity, gender equality, and human development. 
    • The World Bank defines the blue economy as the “sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health”.
• G20 2023 Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP):
  • New FIAP provides an action-oriented and forward-looking roadmap for rapidly advancing the financial inclusion of individuals and MSMEs. 
  • India will lead the implementation of the new FIAP for the next three years starting from 2024. 
• Millet and Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative (MAHARISHI) – Outcome of the 12th G20 Meeting of Agriculture Chief Scientists (MACS):
  • Aim: To bolster research and awareness concerning agro-biodiversity, food security, and nutrition, aligning with the International Year of Millets 2023 (IYoM 2023) programme initiated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
  • Secretariat:  Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad, with technical support from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and other international organizations.
• Reforming International Financial Institutions:
  • Better, bigger, and more effective MDBs:
    • There is a need to enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in global international economic and financial institutions.
    • MDBs should enhance their operating models.
    • They should improve responsiveness and accessibility.
    • Additionally, MDBs should substantially increase their financing capacity.
  • Roadmap to implement the Independent Review on MDBs Capital Adequacy Framework (CAF):
    • Roadmap provides a stocktake of the status of implementation of CAF recommendations by each MDB as reported by the Banks, as well as forward-looking G20 guidance on how to pace up the implementation of the voluntary recommendations, subject to each MDB’s governance framework and internal mandates
  • Established the G20 independent expert group on strengthening MDBs. 
    • Expert group was set up in the Indian Presidency, to delve and suggest ways to significantly enhance credit. Volume I of the report gives recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of MDBs.
• Building Digital Public Infrastructure:
  • G20 Framework for Digital Public Infrastructure:
    • The DPI framework will help ensure equitable access to and last-mile delivery of essential services at a societal scale, streamline governance, propel economic growth, enhance data security, drive financial inclusion, and foster sustainable development. 
  • Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR):
    • GDPIR, a virtual repository of DPI, proposed to be created by the Presidency, aims to share best practices and experiences in the development and deployment of DPI to bridge existing information and knowledge-sharing gaps.
• Fostering Digital Ecosystems:
  • Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH):
    • GIDH, launched in Gandhinagar in August 2023, aims to develop a WHO-managed network, enabling a global digital health ecosystem for standards-based digital health transformation through the convergence of efforts and investments made in digital health around the globe.

Conclusion: 

• The G20 Summit demonstrated a strong commitment to future Presidencies, including Brazil in 2024, South Africa in 2025, and the United States in 2026.
• The Summit recognized and appreciated the contributions of all Engagement Groups and Initiatives of India’s G20 Presidency.
• India’s G20 Presidency set a new standard by conducting over 200 meetings in 60 cities across the country, exemplifying the democratization of diplomacy and people-centric engagement.
• India demonstrated its ability to convene and generate New Delhi Declaration among the G20 members on key global issues, showcasing its leadership on the world stage.

News Source: The Indian Express

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