G20 development ministers' meeting: Who is attending, what's being discussed?

The G20 development ministers’ meet kicked off on Sunday in Varanasi.

The three-day meeting, chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, is being held as part of India’s G20 Presidency.

The Varanasi gathering follows the Voice of the Global South Summit, which was hosted by India in January 2023.

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Let’s take a closer look at what has happened thus far in the meeting and what we can expect:

Delegates receive grand welcome

On Sunday, delegates from Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia and China on Sunday arrived at Varanasi Airport.

Among those in attendance were Australian politician Patrick Conroy, Brazil’s Ambassador to India Mauricio Lyrio, European commissioner for International partnerships Jutta Urpilainen, German minister for economic cooperation and development Svenja Schulze, Japanese Minister Shunsuke Takei and China’s Zhao Yifan.

The guests were greeted by Kashi Vishwanath Damru Vadan Samiti and Awadh’s Faruwahi dance. The guests were extremely pleased by the reception.

Delegates experienced the culture of Varanasi and attended Ganga Aarti at the city’s Dashashwamedh Ghat yesterday.
On Sunday evening, delegates of the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting and Jaishankar – clad in traditional attire – took part in the Ganga Arti ritual at Varanasi’s Dashashwamedh Ghat.

The delegates were earlier welcomed in a traditional way at Namo Ghat. Seeing the cultural artists dance, the delegates also shook a leg.

Following this, they boarded the cruise vessel and reached Dashashmaved Ghat. During the Aarti, there was a special Shankhnaad for the guests.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday evening hosted a state dinner for delegates.

Jaishankar was also present during the dinner.

Jaishankar holds meetings on sidelines

Jaishankar on Sunday also met European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Partnerships and discussed how to synergise Global Gateway with India’s development partnership programmes.

Jaishankar tweeted, “A great meeting with EU Commissioner for International Partnerships @JuttaUrpilainen.Discussed the G20 meeting. Also took forward our conversation about synergizing Global Gateway with India’s development partnership initiatives.”

Jaishankar met with German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze. He expressed his pleasure in beginning the G20 Development Ministers’ meeting with her.

Jaishankar and Shulze discussed the shared priorities of India and Germany that this meeting aims to take forward. They also held discussions on Sustainable Development Summit and third-country partnerships.

“Pleasure to begin G20 Development Ministers’ meeting with German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development @SvenjaSchulze68. Discussed our shared priorities that #G20DMM seeks to take forward. Also spoke about the Sustainable Development Summit and third country partnerships,” the External Affairs Minister tweeted.

According to Hindustan Times, Jaishankar also meet United Nations Conference on Trade and Development secretary-general Rebeca Grynspan.

Jaishankar and Grynspan agreed on G20’s vital role in giving voice to the Global South and agreed to cooperate closely to fulfill the SDGs.

On Sunday, Jaishankar also addressed a seminar on Indian Foreign Policy Objectives and features at the Gandhi Adhyayan Peeth Sabhaagaar.

Jaishankar said, “I have come on such an occasion when the Modi government is completing nine years. The G20 conference is being held in about 60 cities. Today’s meeting is the meeting of Development Ministers,” he said.

While talking about India’s rescue efforts, the EAM said: “You will remember Indians stranded in Ukraine were brought back. Residents in Sudan were also brought back through Operation Kaveri. Countrymen were brought from Ukraine by 90 flights. There was an earthquake in Nepal, then there was a storm in Myanmar.”

The Foreign Affairs Minister said that he has been working in foreign policy for 45 years, “Recently we had never seen such a grand reception for Modi ji.”

‘Sustainable future’

Addressing the meet on Monday, Jaishankar in his keynote address called upon delegates to work towards a “sustainable future”.

As per The Times of India, Jaishankar said New Delhi has put forth an ambitious seven-year action plan to accelerate the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

New Delhi has propounded a three-pronged approach including devising bold, decisive actions on fostering data for development  and digital public infrastructure, which are needed around the world to jumpstart innovations at the grassroots level.

“The action plan not only galvanizes a strong G20 commitment to the development agenda but also puts forward transformative actions on the three core agendas,” Jaishankar said as per ABP LIVE. “The decisions we make today have the potential to contribute to an inclusive, sustainable future.”

Jaishankar also said the prospects of a global economic recovery remain dim amid supply chain disruptions, prolonged debt crisis and pressures on energy, food and fertiliser security.

“The world today faces unprecedented and multiple crises — from the pandemics to the disruptions in supply chains, from the impact of conflict to climate events, our era is becoming more volatile and uncertain by the day,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by Outlook.

“Added to this is the stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and shrinking fiscal space for many nations. As always in such times, the weak and vulnerable bear the brunt,” he said.

Jaishankar added that the world was already failing to meet SDGs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – which only made things worse.

“Prospects of a global economic recovery remain dim amid supply chain disruptions, prolonged debt crisis and pressures on energy, food and fertiliser security,” he added.

‘Geopolitical tensions hurt poorer nations most’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, giving a virtual address at the G20 ministers’ meet, opened up his speech by welcoming the delegates to Varanasi.

As per Indian Express, Modi referred to his parliamentary constituency as the oldest living city of the mother of democracy.

He also said Kashi has been the epicentre of knowledge, discussion, debate, culture, and spirituality for centuries. He called upon the delegates to explore and experience the spirit of Kashi.

Modi said development was a ‘core issue’ for the Global South – especially in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fuel, food and fertiliser crises spurred by geopolitical tensions.

“I strongly believe that it is our collective responsibility not to let the sustainable development goals fall behind. We must ensure that no one is left behind. Our efforts must be comprehensive, inclusive, fair and sustainable,” Modi said as per India Today.

“We should increase investment in fulfilling the SDGs and find solutions to address the debt risk faced by many countries,” Modi added as per LiveMint.

“In India, we are not limited to women’s empowerment. Ours is a women-led development. Women are setting the agenda for development and are also the agents of growth and change. I urge you to adopt a game-changing action plan for women-led development.”

Modi called for reform in multilateral financial institutions and said the eligibility criteria must be expanded to ensure “finance is accessible to those in need”, as per Indian Express.

“In India, we have made efforts to improve the lives of people in more than 100 districts which were pockets of under-development. Our experience show that they have now emerged as the catalyst of growth in the country. I urge the G20 development ministers to study this model of development,” he added, as per Mint.

He said high-quality data is vital when it comes to policy-making, efficient resource allocation, and public service delivery.

Modi said that “the democratisation of technology is a crucial tool to help bridge the data divide”.

He said digitisation in India has has brought about a revolutionary change where technology is being used as a tool to empower people, make data accessible, and ensure inclusivity.

He added that India is willing to share the benefit of its learnings with partner nations.

The Varanasi Development Ministers’ Meeting takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

The G20 Development Ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries, the statement added.

With inputs from agencies

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