The 2023 G20 Delhi summit is the upcoming eighteenth meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20), which will take place in PragatiMaidan, New Delhi, in 2023. The Indian presidency began on December 1, 2022, and will conclude in the fourth quarter of 2023. At the conclusion of the Bali summit, the G20 presidency gavel was transferred from Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an intimate ceremony. Indonesia held the presidency in 2022.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the world’s premier forum for economic cooperation. It is crucial in shaping and strengthening global governance and architecture on all major international economic issues.
From 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, India will preside over the G20.
The Group of Twenty (G20), an association of 20 of the largest economies in the world, was established in 1999 with the intention of bringing together the most significant industrialised and developing economies to discuss global economic and financial stability. Its annual summit, which started as a meeting of G20 leaders in 2008, has grown into a significant forum for talking about economics and other crucial global issues. Major international agreements have occasionally been reached during bilateral discussions outside of summits.
While the group’s robust response to the 2008 financial crisis was one of its most impressive achievements, its cohesion has since frayed, and analysts have criticized its lacklustre response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States has clashed with the rest of the group on trade, climate, and migration policy under President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden promised a return to
multilateral cooperation, including a new global agreement on corporate taxation, but tensions have risen as high- and low-income countries diverged on major issues.
Divides over Russia’s membership in the group, as well as the economic and humanitarian fallout from the Ukraine war, dominated the 2022 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Biden announced at a summit in late 2022 that the US would support African Union (AU) membership, a bloc of fifty-five African states. Other G20 members have previously expressed their support, including China and France. The AU, if approved, would be the group’s first new member since its inception.
Every year, the leaders of the G20 gather to discuss primarily economic and financial issues, as well as to coordinate policy on a variety of other issues of mutual interest. At the 2009 G20 summit, the forum debated how to address a covert Iranian nuclear plant, and at the 2017 summit, the forum debated how to administer a partial cease-fire in Syria.
The G20 lacks a permanent office space, staff, or staff members. Instead, its leadership rotates among its members on an annual basis, decisions are made by consensus, and implementation of its agenda is dependent on the political will of individual states.
The formation of the G20
Following the Asian financial crisis, the G20 was established in 1999 as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.
Promotion to the Level of Leader
Following the global economic and financial crisis of 2007, the G20 was elevated to the level of Heads of State/Government and designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation” in 2009.
Each year, the G20 Summit is presided over by a different Presidency. The G20 initially focused on major macroeconomic issues, but it has since expanded its agenda to cover a variety of topics, including trade, climate change, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, and anti-corruption.
Members of the G20
The Group of Twenty (G20), along with the European Union, is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The G20 members account for roughly 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of global trade, and roughly two-thirds of global population.
How the G20 Functions
For one year, the G20 Presidency steers the G20 agenda and hosts the Summit. The G20 is divided into two tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors lead the Finance Track, followed by Sherpas on the Sherpa Track.
The Sherpas of member countries, who are personal emissaries of the Leaders, coordinate the G20 process from the Sherpa side. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from member countries lead the Finance Track. Within the two tracks, there are thematically oriented working groups comprised of representatives from member ministries as well as invited/guest countries and various international organisations.
The Ministry of Finance is primarily in charge of the Finance Track. Throughout the term of each Presidency, these working groups meet on a regular basis. The Sherpas oversee negotiations throughout the year, discussing Summit agenda items and coordinating G20 substantive work.
There are also Engagement Groups, which bring together G20 civil societies, parliamentarians, think tanks, women, youth, labour, businesses, and researchers.
There is no permanent secretariat for the Group. The Troika consists of the previous, current, and incoming Presidency. The troika will consist of Indonesia, India, and Brazil during India’s presidency.
Why is the G20 important?
The G20 countries account for roughly 80% of global economic output, nearly 75% of global exports, and roughly 60% of the world’s population. These figures have remained relatively stable, whereas the corresponding rates for the Group of Seven (G7) nations, a smaller group of advanced democracies, have shrunk, as larger emerging markets account for a disproportionately larger share of the global economy.
What was on the agenda?
The G20 initially focused on broad macroeconomic policy, but it has since broadened its scope. The 2018 summit in Argentina was focused on equitable and sustainable development, whereas the previous summit in Germany was focused on issues such as corruption, money laundering, and international tax havens. Some agendas have had even less to do with macroeconomics: at the 2016 Hangzhou summit, US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping formally announced their countries’ accession to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The centrepiece of each summit’s agenda remains economic and financial coordination, but issues such as the future of work, terrorism, and global health are also recurring focuses. Broader agendas became more common after the global financial crisis, when the G20 was able to shift its focus away from acute economic crisis management. However, recent summits have struggled to reach a unified consensus—a hallmark of previous iterations of the conference—as high- and low-income economies’ interests continue to diverge.
What were the major points of contention?
Geopolitical tensions have increased, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also fueled by strategic competition between China and the United States. Bipartisan legislative efforts in the United States have sought to deny Russia membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international organisations. Russia’s participation in the G20 has become contentious, with some Western countries seeking to exclude Moscow, despite opposition from members such as China and Brazil.
G20 members may also disagree on how to deal with economic shocks that disproportionately affect emerging economies. The energy crisis caused by Ukraine’s war has resulted in food scarcity and skyrocketing energy prices, as well as inflationary pressures that have strengthened the US dollar at the expense of depreciating currencies in emerging economies.
As a result, more countries are seeking bailouts from international lenders; since the outbreak of the pandemic, over a hundred countries have requested emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s lending to troubled economies reached a record high of $140 billion in 2022 and is expected to rise further.
The G20 introduced a common framework for debt treatment ahead of its 2020 summit, but only three countries have requested debt relief under the framework: Chad, Ethiopia, and Zambia.
All eyes are set on India for the G20 Delhi summit scheduled to be held this year.
