Union Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar is set to preside over the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting, scheduled to take place from 11-13 June 2023 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The meeting will be held under the G20 Indian Presidency, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering a special video address at the outset.
The Varanasi Development Ministers' Meeting comes at a critical juncture as the world faces mounting developmental challenges. These challenges include economic slowdown, debt distress, the impact of climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, growing poverty and inequality, food and energy insecurity, a cost-of-living crisis, global supply-chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflicts and tensions.
The G20 Development Ministerial meeting aims to forge a collective agreement on actions to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster synergies between development, environment, and climate agendas. It seeks to avoid costly trade-offs that impede progress for developing countries.
This meeting follows the Voice of the Global South Summit hosted by India in January 2023. The decisions taken at the Varanasi meeting will also contribute to the United Nations SDG Summit, scheduled to be held in September in New York. Preceding the Development Ministers' Meeting, the fourth and final Development Working Group (DWG) Meeting took place in Delhi from June 6-9.
The meeting's agenda includes two main sessions: "Multilateralism: Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs" and "Green Development: A LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Approach."
The DWG, building upon the significant work of previous G20 presidencies, has carried forward its mandate to enhance the G20's contribution to accelerating progress towards the SDGs. It aims to strengthen the G20's long-term vision in this regard, including efforts to foster sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic growth.
