G20 Summit: Members, Previous Summits, Structure, Agenda (Photo: G20)
New Delhi: The G20 Summit is scheduled to take place in the national capital on September 9 and 10 under India’s Presidency.
What is G20?
The Group of Twenty (G20) is a forum for countries to work together on economic matters worldwide. The G20 was set up to handle global economic issues, financial stability, and other problems like trade, climate change, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, and anti-corruption. The G20 includes nations that contribute around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population, as per the official G20 website.
A Brief History of G20:
The G20 was established in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis. It was set up as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss economic and financial problems worldwide. In 2008, things changed when the G20 became a forum for leaders of countries, including Presidents and Prime Ministers after the global economic crisis of 2007. In 2009, it was designated as the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.
Who are the members of G20?
The members of the G20 include 19 nations and the European Union. These 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States. Recently, PM Modi suggested the inclusion of the African Union, a bloc of 55 countries from the African continent, and giving them full membership to the G20.
G20 India 2023: Logo and Theme
According to the official website, the G20 Logo takes colours from India's flag - saffron, white, green, and blue. It also presents the Earth and a lotus flower, India’s national flower. Below the G20 logo is the word "Bharat" in Devanagari script.
The theme of India's G20 Presidency is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future."It supports the idea that all forms of life, including humans, animals, plants, and tiny organisms, are valuable and are connected to each other on Earth and in the larger part of the universe.
18th G20 Summit in New Delhi:
As per the official website, the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. At the conclusion of the G20 Summit, a G20 Leaders’ Declaration stating the commitment of the leaders towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings will be adopted.
A recent statement from the White House said, “G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of Putin’s war in Ukraine, and increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges,” as per a report by the Indian Express (IE).
Structure and Functioning of G20:
As per the official website, the G20 comprises two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. The Finance Track is led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, while Sherpas lead the Sherpa Track after the Finance Track.
Apart from these groups, there are also Engagement Groups that gather people together including civil society, members of parliament, experts, women, youth, labourers, businesses, and researchers of the G20 countries.
The G20 does not have a permanent office. Instead, the Presidency receives assistance from a Troika, which consists of the countries that held the Presidency before, the current one, and the next one. For instance, during India's term as President, the Troika will include Indonesia, India, and Brazil, respectively.
Previous Summits:
In 2022, the G20 summit took place in Indonesia and was held after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As per the joint statement, the leaders strongly condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine and also condemned the use of, or threats of the use of, nuclear weapons.
The 2021 G20 summit in Italy primarily focused on addressing climate change. The leaders committed to fighting climate change by aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared with pre-industrial levels within reach, IE said in a report. They also pledged to achieve global net zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by mid-century.
The 2020 G20 summit, originally scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia, was held via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders pledged to work together to overcome the pandemic, restore growth, and build a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future, as per IE.
