G20’s first Infrastructure Working Group meeting to be held in Pune on January 16-17

Pune (Mumbai) [India], January 14 (ANI): G20’s first Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under India’s G-20 Presidency is scheduled to be held on January 16-17 in Pune.

The IWG meeting will bring together the member countries of the forum, guest countries and international organisations invited by India to discuss the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under India’s G20 Presidency and will be hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, along with Australia and Brazil as the co-chairs, the official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs read.

The G20 Infrastructure Working Group will hold discussions on a range of topics related to infrastructure investments, such as establishing infrastructure as an asset class, supporting high-quality infrastructure investment, and locating novel methods for raising money for such projects.

In the meeting which is slated to take place in Pune, discussions will focus on the agenda for the Infrastructure Working Group under the Indian Presidency, according to the official statement. The theme will focus on various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, and directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure.

The Indian G20 Presidency’s theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ sets the tone for the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the 2023 Indian G-20 Presidency. The theme underlines the message of equitable growth and aptly ties up with the central agenda of the discussions which is building resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban infrastructure.

The Pune meeting will also complement a High-Level Workshop on ‘Financing of Cities of Tomorrow’.
The G20 meeting was preceded by a number of Jan-Bhagidari initiatives by the Pune Municipal Corporation and other Pune city stakeholders, including lectures on G20, a seminar on ‘Making Cities Future Ready and Importance of Urban Development’, a G20 cyclothon, a motorbike rally on National Youth Day, Swachhata drive and model G20 discussions in the educational institutions.

The initiative aims at involving people from all walks of life in the whole discussions happening around the G20 meeting.
During India’s G20 Presidency, the G20 Infrastructure Working Group will be used as a forum to discuss challenges that cities face and opportunities they will bring in the near future, while charting a course of making cities more liveable, the MEA release added.