On November, 21-22, 2020, the 15th G20 (Group of Twenty) Summit was virtually convened by Saudi Arabia where Indian side was represented by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The summit, chaired by Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud saw the participation of respective Heads of State/ Government of 19 member countries, European Union (EU), other invited countries and international organizations. This was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia but due to COVID-19 it was held virtually.
The Summit under Saudi Arabia Presidency centered on the Theme, ‘Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century For All’ .
Agenda of the Summit: Overcoming the pandemic, economic recovery and restoring jobs, and building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.
The three key agenda items to be addressed under this theme are: ‘Empowering People, by creating the conditions in which all people – especially women and youth – can live, work and thrive’; ‘Safeguarding the Planet, by fostering collective efforts to protect our global commons’; and ‘Shaping New Frontiers, by adopting long-term and bold strategies to share benefits of innovation and technological advancement’.
Adopted the the G20 Riyadh Declaration
During the summit the leaders adopted the the G20 Riyadh Declaration to address common global challenges which consists of following overarching points covering all sectors:
- Rising to the Challenge Together
- Building a Resilient and Long-Lasting Recovery
- Ensuring an Inclusive Recovery that Tackles Inequalities
- Ensuring a Sustainable Future
The declaration also mentioned that the Italy will hold the G20 Presidency in 2021 & the meeting will be held in Italy, Indonesia will take over the G20 Presidency in the year 2022 & the meeting will be held in Indonesia, India will take over the G20 Presidency in the year 2023 & the meeting will be held in India and Brazil will take over the G20 Presidency in the year 2024 & the meeting will be held in Brazil.
Click Here to Download G20 Leaders Declaration
Key Point from PM Narendra Modi Address:
–Indian side called for a new Global Index for the Post-Corona World that comprises four key elements viz. creation of a vast Talent Pool; ensuring that Technology reaches all segments of the society; Transparency in systems of governance; and dealing with Mother Earth with a spirit of Trusteeship.
–Assessment of new technology should be based on its impact on Ease of Living and Quality of Life.
–There should be focus on Multi-Skilling and Re-skilling to create vast Human Talent Pool.
–As ‘Work from Anywhere’ is a new normal in the post-COVID world, Indian side suggested creation of a G20 Virtual Secretariat as a follow up and documentation repository.
–India has adopted low carbon and climate resilient development practices to meet Paris Agreement targets of 2030.
–India will meet the goal of 175 GigaWatts (GW) of renewable energy well before the target of 2022 and is seeking to achieve 450 GW by 2030.
–Smoke-free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million households through our Ujjwala Scheme.
–India aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
–India also took the initiative of establishing institutions such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
–Italy to prioritise climate, carbon neutrality during G20 presidency in 2021
Importantly, during the culmination of the summit, the Saudi Arabia passed the G20 Presidency to Italy for 2021. Italy will focus towards prioritizing climate and energy, the transition to a carbon-neutral future and a circular economy.
–Support lent towards to AML and CFT
The G20 leaders expressed their support towards Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) policy responses detailed in the FATF’s paper on COVID-19, and reaffirmed their support for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
Recent Related News:
i.On September 29, 2020 G20 Sherpa Meeting took place virtually under Saudi Arabia’s Presidency. The meeting discussed the actions taken by the forum for tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is the 3rd edition of G20 Sherpa Meeting. Suresh Prabhu, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha represented India at the meeting.
ii.As a part of the Finance Track for the G20 (Group of Twenty) Leaders Summit 2020, the 4th G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting was held virtually on October 14, 2020. It was organized under the Saudi Arabian Presidency where Indian side was represented by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
About G-20 or Group of Twenty:
The G-20’s member-countries represent around 85 per cent of the world’s economic output and three-quarters of international trade.
Members – 19 countries and the European Union (EU)
The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
2020 theme– Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All
