The third day of the 1st Development Working Group (DWG) Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency in Mumbai, Maharashtra, was focused on key global issues of harnessing data for development and collective climate action. The four-day DWG meeting, which took place in Mumbai from December 13 to 16, 2022, came to an end on Thursday.
While discussing ‘Data for Development,’ Nagaraj Naidu and Eenam Gambhir, joint secretaries in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, emphasised the need to galvanise global efforts to successfully expedite efforts to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
“As nations strive towards attainment of the SDGs, attention now coalesces globally on digital solutions and systems that enable the effective provision of essential society wide functions and services,” they said.
Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN Secretary-Special General’s Envoy on Technology, emphasised the global potential for growth and collaboration in important sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and food security through the efficient gathering, storage, analysis, and translation of data sets into digital intelligence.
Delegates from G20 nations applauded India’s commitment to SDG 12: “Responsible Consumption and Production” and discussed how to integrate local realities and expertise, define scope and scale, and propose policy measures that facilitate and incentivise shifts in this area.
How does the G20 function?
The G20 Presidency oversees the G20 agenda and hosts the summit for one year. Two parallel tracks comprise the G20: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. The Finance Track is led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, whereas the Sherpa Track is led by Sherpas.
The Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the member nations lead the Finance Track. Within the two tracks, there are thematically oriented working groups comprised of representatives from the relevant ministries of the members, invited/guest countries, and numerous international organisations.
The Sherpas of member countries, who are the personal representatives of the Leaders, coordinate the G20 process from the Sherpa Track. The Sherpa Track manages contributions from thirteen working groups, two initiatives (Research Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and G20 Empower), and several engagement groups, all of which meet throughout the year and write their issue notes and outcome documents concurrently. These substantive conversations then contribute recommendations based on consensus to the Sherpa meetings. The conclusion paper of the Sherpa-level discussions finally forms the basis of the Leaders’ Declaration, which will be debated and signed (after and if consensus is reached) by the leaders of all G20 member countries at the final New Delhi Summit in September next year.
India holds the G20 Presidency from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.
Source: PIB
Edited by Tanmoy Mitra