The 1st Sherpa Meeting of India’s G20 Presidency begins today in the historic city of Udaipur, Rajasthan
The 1st Sherpa Meeting of India’s G20 Presidency commenced today, on 04
December 2022, in Udaipur Rajasthan. A series of briefings and interactions
with the media and a side event on Transforming Lives at the Midpoint of the
2030 Agenda: Accelerating Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in
an Era of Cascading and Multiple Crises were organised. The day also witnessed
the arrival of Sherpas and delegations of various G20 nations and heads of
invited International Organisations at Udaipur. Various Rajasthani cultural
activations were carried out to welcome the delegates and showcase to them the
tradition of Indian hospitality and performing arts.
An informal press interaction was organised with media persons across
television and print media in the backdrop of Udaipur’s famous Lake Pichola.
India’s key priorities for the upcoming year, spanning across resilient
economic growth, climate action, women-led development and more were discussed.
The structure of India’s G20 Presidency and various working and engagement
groups were explained during the briefing. Priorities of the working groups
were also highlighted. It was reasserted that in spite of facing several global
challenges, India will advocate a sense of oneness for all and find solutions
collectively with other nations. There was also focus on India’s stand as a
voice for the global south.
The first side event was a panel discussion on accelerating
implementation of SDGs. For the past seven years, India has been at the
forefront of adopting, implementing, and monitoring the SDGs and localising it
to suit the subnational and local realities. While there is a long way to go,
many of India’s programmatic interventions have been successful in creating
impact at scale. India’s innovative approaches, tools and experiences in areas
such as digital transformation especially ‘data for development’, just green
transition, women-led development, and economic growth for SDGs offer a variety
of good practices and lessons learned, from which other nations can benefit to
address their own challenges to SDG acceleration. The side event witnessed
fruitful discussions on how these four accelerators can help overcome many of
the obstacles that the 2030 Agenda currently faces due to the cascading and
multiple crises the world faces, as it reaches the midpoint of the SDG journey.
In the welcome note to all delegates, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant stressed
on India’s belief that every crisis is an opportunity and leadership is about
finding path breaking solutions in the midst of crisis. He focused on the
onerous responsibility on all G20 sherpas to give shape to a new future. At the
end of the discussion, the panel concluded that the G20 platform is in a unique
position to provide leadership and financial resources and work together to
bring the world back on track to achieve the SDGs.
The Jal Sanjhi art form is an incredible 300-year-old Rajasthani rare
art form where the canvas is the surface of water. Rajesh Vaishnav, a Jal
Sanjhi Artist, created a beautiful piece of art for all the guests to view and
appreciate. The Desert Music Symphony led by the renowned Sangeet Natak Academy
awardee, Gazi Khan Barna including maestros of both the Langa and Manganiyar
folk musical linage of Rajasthan delivered a memorable performance for the
guests. Apart from presenting folk music, the program also showcased an
ensemble of Rajasthani folk musical instruments like kamaicha, sindhi sarengi,
surinda, algoza, matka, murli, dholak, khartal, bhapang, tandura, morchang,
manjira. Going back to the roots, the Desert Music Symphony was specially
curated to give the esteemed guests an immersive cultural experience, embedded
in the folk tradition of Rajasthan. The Sherpas and members of visiting
delegations also sampled traditional millets snack boxes and Rajasthani
bandhini bags.
The four-day gathering (04-07 December 2022) of the Sherpas of G20
Members, invited countries and International Organizations will set the stage
for the important conversation on some of the most pressing issues of our time,
including technological transformation, green development and LiFE,
spotlighting women-led development, accelerating implementation of the SDGs,
and facilitating inclusive and resilient growth.