UNDP administrator Achim Steiner highlights India's G20 presidency

United Nations Development Programme's Administrator, Achim Steiner highlighted India's G20 presidency and welcomed priorities that New Delhi set during its leadership.

Speaking at the UN, Steiner said that he will be travelling to India in a couple of weeks to attend the G20 Finance Central Bank Governors meeting.

"I think it is fair to say that India's G 20 presidency, following Indonesia's leadership through 2021, is a critical moment where key decisions that the multilateral system can then transact, can be brokered, can be created, not least a response that deals with the current financing dramas that are unfolding before our very eyes," the UNDP administrator said.

"So we have very high expectations, and certainly, I welcome the priorities that India has set during its presidency and UNDP feels extremely valued in the advice and the input we are providing. In fact, in a couple of weeks, I will be travelling to India for the G20 Finance Central Bank Governors meeting," he added.

India's first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held from 23-25 February in Bengaluru, Karnataka, according to the G20's press statement.

Earlier, in December, India hosted the first G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in Bengaluru, Karnataka, under the co-chairship of Secretary, Economic Affairs, Shri Ajay Seth and Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Michael Patra.

The meeting saw an enthusiastic gathering of over 160 foreign delegates including Deputies from G20 member countries, invitee countries, and International Organisations. This marks the beginning of the G20 Finance Track under the Indian Presidency.

Over the course of two days, seven discussion sessions and two side events were organised. The delegates were also given a glimpse of the traditional as well as the contemporary culture of Karnataka through a vivid display of different art forms, as per the statement.

The agenda of this meeting was crafted keeping in view the vision given by Hon'ble PM and Indian Presidency's G20 theme.

The meeting was conducted with the aim of seeking the views of G20 members on India's G20 Finance Track priorities for 2023 across various workstreams. A side event on 'Strengthening MDBs to Address Shared Global Challenges of the 21st century' was held on the sidelines of the Deputies' meeting.

This event, moderated by Shri Suman Bery, VC NITI, focused on discussing how MDBs can help countries in addressing transboundary challenges. US Finance Deputy, Andy Baukol and Saudi Arabia's Finance Deputy, Ryadh Alkharief alongwith Director-General of ADB, Tomoyuki Kimura, and Prof. Devesh Kapur of John Hopkins University participated as panellists and shared their views on the topic.

Another side event on 'Role of Central Banks in Managing Climate Risk and in Green Financing' was also held, the statement read.