India to host G20 development ministers’ meeting in Varanasi from June 11-13

New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) India will host a three-day meeting of development ministers of the G20 member nations in Varanasi beginning Sunday that is expected to focus on disruptions in global supply chains, food and energy security challenges and impacts of climate change among other issues.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a special video address at the beginning of the meeting which will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Around 200 delegates are expected to attend the meeting, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

India is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of G20.

The G20 development ministers’ conclave follows the Voice of the Global South Summit that was hosted by India in January, and the decisions taken at the Varanasi meet will also contribute to the UN summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, the MEA said.

In a statement, it said the Varanasi meeting is taking place amid mounting developmental challenges that have been further aggravated by economic slowdown, debt distress, impacts of climate change, growing poverty and inequality, food and energy insecurity, global supply-chain disruptions, and geo-political conflicts and tensions.

“The G20 development ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating achievement of the SDGs and foster synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries,” the MEA said.

The meeting will consist of two main sessions — one on ‘Multilateralism: Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs’ and another on ‘Green Development: A LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Approach’.

The development ministers’ meeting was preceded by the fourth and final development working group (DWG) meeting, which was held in Delhi from June 6-9.

The DWG, while building on the crucial work done by previous G20 presidencies, has carried forward its mandate of enhancing G20’s contribution to accelerating progress towards SDGs and strengthening G20 long-term vision in this regard.

“Cultural programmes, exhibitions and excursions have also been organised to provide the delegates a glimpse into the rich culture and traditions of Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world,” the MEA said.