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India holds first Sherpa meeting after after G20 Bali Summit
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The presidency of the [Group of 20] has been handed over to India, but that does not mean Indonesia's job is finished," ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, Indonesia's G20 co-Sherpa, remarked at the Indian G20 presidency’s 1st Sherpa Meeting.
India has formally started the series of meetings under its G20 presidency, which it took over in November when Indonesia's tenure ended. The 1st Sherpa Meeting, held on Dec. 4-7 in the Indian city of Udaipur, set the tone and discussed the priorities of India's G20 presidency.
The meeting highlighted various global issues, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate finance, green development, technology transfers, digital infrastructure, women’s role in development and multilateralism.
"Almost all of India’s G20 priorities are in line with [Indonesia’s G20] priorities. Some new initiatives that were introduced are disaster risk reduction (DRR) and discussions on a new engagement group, namely Start-up 20," said ambassador Djani, who represented Indonesia at the meeting, along with Dr. Edi Prio Pambudi, Deputy VII from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.
Continuity in the G20 discussions is very important for the forum’s effectiveness and efficiency. It is also crucial for easier monitoring and evaluation to follow up on the many bilateral and multilateral agreements achieved at the G20 Bali Summit last month, and to ensure that all projects, programs and initiatives are implemented promptly.
The next few terms of the G20 presidency will be unique, as it will be successively led by developing countries, starting with Indonesia in 2022 and following by India in 2023, Brazil in 2024 and South Africa in 2025. The G20 presidency of these developing countries can help navigate global challenges and focus on their peer countries.
"This is a rare moment, and this opportunity must be seized from the early stages to further voice the interests of developing countries at the prestigious G20 forum," said Djani, who is also Special Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Priority Programs.
Meanwhile, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and representatives from many G20 members also expressed their high appreciation for the Indonesian presidency, for guiding relevant and fruitful discussions over the past year amid an uncertain geopolitical situation. Indonesia was also hailed for successfully maintaining the forum’s integrity by reaching a consensus in producing the Bali Leaders' Declaration.
"Indonesia has set the best example of how the [G20] presidency should work and deliver, even during a time of uncertainty," said Amitabh, who was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022.
The G20 Sherpas represent the heads of state of G20 member countries, and are responsible for negotiating the outcomes and directions of G20 meetings during the course of a G20 presidency.
Following the 1st Sherpa Meeting, the Indian G20 presidency will begin a series of meetings for G20 working groups, which currently totals 13. It will also hold the Research and Innovation Informal Gathering (RIIG) and the G20 Empower meetings. Aside from the usual invited countries, India's G20 presidency has also invited Oman, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria.
