Cabinet okays G20 Secretariat

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures, which will be responsible for the implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India's forthcoming G20 Presidency.

India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022, to November 20, 2023, culminating with the G20 Summit in India in 2023. G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation that plays an important role in global economic governance.

In an official statement the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned, "As per practice, a G20 Secretariat is being established to handle work relating to substantive / knowledge/content, technical, media, security and logistical aspects of India's G20 Presidency. It will be manned by officers and staff from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and other relevant line Ministries / Departments and domain knowledge experts. The Secretariat will be functional till February 2024."

The Secretariat will be guided by an Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister, and comprising Finance Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister, and G20 Sherpa (Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister), to provide overall guidance to India's G20 Presidency, the ministry

further added.

On December 1, 2021, India had joined the G20 Troika which now consists of Indonesia, Italy, and India - the current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies. Italy hosted the G20 summit last year, Indonesia to host it this year and India will be the host in 2023.

The external affairs ministry further stated that a Coordination Committee will also be set up to oversee all G20 preparations and report to the Apex Committee. The G20 Secretariat will enable long term capacity building, including knowledge and expertise, for India's leadership on global issues in multilateral fora.