What is G20 2023? Participating Countries and Agenda

What is G20? The Group of 20, more commonly known as G20, is an international organisation made up of the European Union and 19 other nations. With regard to the global economy, it works to address important problems like international financial stability, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable development. On 1st December 2022, For the first time in history, India took the presidency from Indonesia which marks a momentous day for our nation. India is hosting the summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Read on to learn more about the G20 summit and its vision. 

G20 2023 Updates

The G20 has started taking place at the “Bharat Mandapam”, formerly known as the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. All global leaders have marked their presence to participate in the G20 Summit 2023. The first event of the G20 Summit 2023 was “One Earth”. The African Union has been granted permanent membership in the G20 in one of its major announcements. The leaders also plan on to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war situation but don’t want to deviate from the major agenda of the summit. Further, India’s rail network to the Arab countries can be a big decision as an exchange of trade takes place.

India’s Presidency in G20 2023

India’s presidency at the G20 World Summit began on 01 December 2023. The G20 Summit in New Delhi is being chaired by Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi. The presidency was transferred by the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo to the Indian PM, Mr. Narendra Modi by the passing of the G20 Presidency gavel.

Quick Facts About G20

if you are wondering about what is G20, then, read the quick facts about G20 given below to enlighten your knowledge.

• The G20 is an organisation made up of the top twenty industrialised and developing nations.
• The Group of Twenty (G20) was initially founded in 1999 in response to complaints that the Group of Seven (G7) was out of date and excessively restrictive.
• The G20 summits give the most influential leaders in the world the chance to casually discuss topics pertaining to the global economy.
• The European Union and 19 other nations, including India, are G20 members. G20 nations account for more than 75% of global trade and around 85% of the world’s GNP. 2/3rd of the world’s population consists of them.
• There is no permanent secretariat for G20. Instead, the G20 president is in charge of bringing the agenda after consulting with other participants. G20 is an unofficial political gathering.
• Throughout the year, special events, working groups, ministerial meetings, Sherpa meetings (charged with conducting talks and achieving consensus among Leaders), and the Summit are all organized.
• The G20 Presidency rotates annually according to a system that ensures a regional balance over time.

The Making of a Group of Twenty: G20

In the 1990s a lot of economies were facing a dire economic crisis. The main problem addressed here was that most of these countries facing a financial backlash were underrepresented or in global economic discussions and governance on these matters. 

To sort this out a forum for central bank governors and finance ministers to address global economic and financial concerns was created in 1999 with the formation of the G20 group, which includes 19 nations and the EU. It began as an informal dialogue in Germany to reestablish global economic stability. It came out to be so impactful and comprehensive on the sides of participating nations that leaders from all the countries met every year for discussions since then. But It was only in 2008 that the G20 was raised to the level of a summit. 

Together, the G20 nations make up over two-thirds of the world’s population, seventy-five per cent of its trade, and eighty-five per cent of its gross domestic product. The G20 was promoted to the rank of Head of State and Government during the global financial and economic crisis of 2007, and it was given the title of “premier forum for international economic cooperation.” 

What is the G20 Theme for 2023?

G20 New Delhi Theme: Vasudhaiva Kutukbakam– One Earth, One Family, One Future

To face the mega developmental catastrophe of humans, the countries who have pledged to join hands discuss the ways to escape it. As the Indian Prime Minister puts it, ‘Today, the greatest challenges we face – climate change, terrorism, and pandemics – can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together.’ And so does India’s G20 motto.

Previous Themes of G20

Year	Country/City	Theme
2022	Indonesia	Recover together, Recover Stronger
2021	Rome, Italy	People, Planet and Prosperity
2020	Riyadh	Realizing opportunities of the 21st century for all
2019	Osaka, Japan	Ensure global and sustainable development
2018	Bueno Aires, Argentina	Financial markets and world economy

What is the G20 2023 Vision?

• Realizing the need to Heal the Earth through Harmony among countries to generate Hope for the future gives birth to the motto of this year’s summit. 
• To ensure macroeconomic stability, rationalise international taxation, and relieve the debt burden on countries, among many other outcomes.
• Using examples and experiences from India to solve global problems by leveraging ideas and technology for the same. 
• Participation of non-partner countries and putting forth the concerns of those seldom heard 
• To provide evidence-based policy recommendations to assist governments in addressing significant global issues facing the G20 and beyond
• To develop ideas for coordinating business, civil society, and government to solve global issues and meet human needs in healthy societies
• to launch a global movement to re-connect social progress with political, economic, and environmental progress

G20 Participating Countries and the Years of Presidency Takeovers

The countries participating in the G20 Summits every year are the marvellous 20 nations that come together to discuss issues that concern the world and help in building economies. The list includes big economies and upcoming performers in the field of development. Here is a list of G20 participating countries.

Country	Year of Presidency Takeover
USA	2008
UK	2009
Canada	2010
Republic of Korea	2010
France	2011
Mexico	2012
Russia	2013
Australia	2014
Turkey	2015
China	2016
Germany	2017
Argentina	2018
Japan	2019
Saudi Arabia	2020
Italy	2021
Indonesia	2022
India	2023
Brazil	2024
South Africa	2025
European Union	–

Famous Summits of G20

We all come across the great agendas of such summits but sometimes it is difficult to understand how they affect world economics and what is actually being done through them. To understand the G20 better, here is a timeline of early G20 Summits and its achievements. 

The First G20 Summit was held in Washington under the USA Presidency. In this discussion, efforts were made to understand and analyse the reasons behind the Global Economic and Financial Crisis and devise a combined plan of action. The three main objectives of the discussion were 1. Restoring global growth, 2. Strengthening the international financial system and 3. Reforming international financial institutions. 

The next year, G20 London Summit took place with the participating countries. The summit was focused on restoring credit and growth under which a stimulus package of $1.1 Trillion was raised. Financial Stability Forum and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision were also strengthened during this time with the efforts of G20 by providing strong regulatory provisions. It was dedicated to the reformations of International Financial Institutions. 

By the time of the Pittsburgh Summit, the G20 was considered a premier forum for economic development and cooperation. This summit led to the development of a framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth. It included some macroeconomic policies that were implemented to monitor the Boom and Bust cycles in the international market. 

The fourth summit was held in 2010 in Toronto, Canada. The theme for this year’s summit was focussed around ‘Recovery and New Beginnings’ building on the previous framework of Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth. By then powerful economies had accomplished fiscal consolidation and stabilisation of debt in various countries.  

In Seol during the 5th G20 Summit, the ideation points included more than a crisis control rescue as most of the economies had overcome the financial burden. The theme of the event that year was ‘Shared Growth Beyond Crisis’. Countries now had started developing Multi-Year Action Plans under 9 main themes of development. 

These pillars were Infrastructure, Trade, Human Resources Development, Private Investment and Job Creation, Growth with Resilience, Food Security, Domestic Resource Mobilization, Financial Inclusion and Knowledge Sharing. 

What is the G20 2023 Agenda on the Education Sector? 

All the pillars of discussion in G20 were segregated into different working groups having discussions about the reformatory policies and action plans. The discussions around education soon started gaining importance. In the year 2018 under the presidency of Argentina, Education was included as a separate working group for the first time ever. 

Since then, education has been given more importance in the G20 discussion agendas. These reforms were included in India’s National Education Policy in the year 2020. In the current G20 Discussions in India, many discussions have been conducted within the Education Working Groups. 

The upcoming SHERPA Education Working Group meeting is scheduled for the 23rd of April 2023 in Bhubaneshwar. One of the meetings was conducted in March 2023 and one is on the 20th of June 2023 to be held in Pune. 

There are four focus areas of discussion for Education in G20 2023 forums. These include Ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy, whose discussions were held on the 1st and 2nd of February 2023. Other discussions include the role of digital technology in education, building capacities and lifelong learning for the future of work, and strengthening research collaboration. 

What are the G20 Engagement Groups?

There are different engagement groups in the Summit divided on the basis of the theme of discussion. It helps in consolidating the discussions into zones where topics can be taken up in a more fruitful way.

The various G20 engagement groups included are given below. 

1. Youth 20 
2. Civil 20 
3. SAI 20 
4. Science 20 
5. Labour 20 
6. Parliament 20 
7. Business 20 
8. Women 20 
9. Urban 20 
10. Startup 20 
11. Space 20 
12. Think 20   

Controlling 90% of the global GDP and 80% of global trade G20 are a powerful group of countries that create an international financial architecture to reduce risks and avoid any financial crisis by devising financial regulations. That is how G20 is more than just a summit as it comes with transformation and development.  

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