G20 Sherpa meeting: India hopes Kumarakom deliberations will help achieve agreed outcomes

Kumarakom: The second Sherpa meeting under India's G20 presidency kickstarted here on Friday with Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan expressing hope the Kumarakom deliberations will help in achieving ambitious and agreed outcomes.

Addressing the delegates, Muraleedharan said the G20 theme based on universal brotherhood i.e. "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth One Family One Future" has found resonance across the world, with its all encompassing, inclusive message, capturing the diverse global challenges of the day.

"Our broad G20 priorities of Green Development, Climate Finance and LiFE; Accelerated, Inclusive and Resilient Growth; Accelerating progress on SDGs; Technological Transformation and Public Digital Infrastructure; Multilateral Institutions of the 21 Century and Women-Led development have found broad acceptance. " "These priorities were also supported by 124 countries of the Global South at our Voice of the Global South Summit in January 2023", he said. He said the Chair's Summary and Outcome Document following the G 20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held from 1-2 March, 2023 in New Delhi was the first ever in G20.

"Its key outcomes included endorsement of multilateral reforms, a shared approach to development cooperation, the need for Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to mobilize additional financing, an unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and a resolve to counter new and emerging threats, need for reliable food and fertilizer supply chains as well as resilient supply chains, global skill mapping, among others", he said.

In a first, further deepening of cooperation between G20 and African partners, i.e., the African Union, was highlighted, he said.

"With South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, AU Chair Comoros, Mauritius and AUDA-NEPAD, the Indian Presidency has the highest ever participation from Africa in any G20", he said, adding all of this has been possible only due to our collective efforts despite the challenges the world is facing right now.

"Let me express my confidence that Kumarakom will provide you all with the perfect opportunity to take stock of the work done so far, as well as to deliberate on the way forward for further cementing G20’s good work and achieving ambitious and agreed outcomes", the minister said.