### Summary
Finance and health ministers of G20 nations have agreed to strengthen global health architecture for pandemic prevention through enhanced collaboration.
### Facts
- 💼 Finance and health ministers of G20 nations have agreed to strengthen global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
- 🌍 The task force approved a multi-year work plan under the Indian presidency.
- 📊 Task force reports highlighted the impact of future pandemics on the economy and identified gaps in funding arrangements.
- 🇮🇳 India hosted the G20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers Meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- 💰 Ministers welcomed the conclusion of the first call for proposals of the pandemic fund and look forward to the second call for proposals by the end of 2023.
The finance and health ministers of G20 nations have agreed to strengthen global health architecture for pandemic prevention and response, according to India's finance ministry.
A group of investors managing $7.3 trillion in assets has called on the G20 countries to align agricultural subsidies with climate and nature goals by the end of the decade, citing concerns over the risks to investment portfolios and the environmental damage caused by subsidies.
Developed nations will need to invest $100-150 billion per year through multilateral development banks to support emerging economies in financing their climate transition, according to Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance. Carney emphasized the importance of transition finance for challenging sectors and called for changes in the operational orientation of MDBs to prioritize climate funding.
India's G20 presidency has shaped its global future and brought the country to the forefront of the international stage, with discussions at the NDTV G20 Conclave focusing on energy transition, clean growth, digital economy, and India's rising global influence.
India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant outlines India's positive agenda for the country's presidency of the G20, with a focus on digital transformation, infrastructure building, and women-led development. India has made significant achievements in areas such as housing, sanitation, water supply, and digital payments, and aims to promote inclusive growth, accelerate sustainable development goals, take climate action, and prioritize technological transformation and women's empowerment during its presidency.
Several developing nations, including Zambia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Pakistan, Tunisia, Egypt, El Salvador, Kenya, Ukraine, and Lebanon, are struggling with significant debt problems, which will be a key topic of discussion at the G20 summit in Delhi next month.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed India's achievements during its presidency of the G20, highlighting its human-centric model of development and its response to the pandemic, which has gained recognition and appreciation from the international community; he also emphasized the importance of including the Global South and Africa in global affairs and addressing their needs. Additionally, Modi noted India's efforts in promoting renewable energy and the democratization of technology, while acknowledging the challenges of cybercrime and the need for global cooperation. He expressed confidence in India's future economic growth and its potential to become one of the top three economies in the world by 2030 and a developed country by 2047.
The Indian government is taking a different approach to the G20 summit, aiming to make it a national endeavor and involve different parts of the country, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The G20, which is meeting in New Delhi, India, has seen a major shift in power dynamics over the past two decades, with the BRICS bloc now having a slightly higher combined GDP than the US, and EU countries accounting for around 20% of the G20's economic output.
President Biden aims to offer alternative funding options to fast-growing economies in Africa, Latin America, and Asia at the G20 meeting in India, in an attempt to counter China's Belt and Road project, which has left many countries in debt.
President Biden aims to use the G20 summit as an opportunity to strengthen the U.S.'s position as the leader of the global system, boost funding for the World Bank, and counterbalance China's Belt and Road Initiative; meanwhile, a potential strike looms for General Motors and Ford, and the Federal Reserve plans to maintain interest rates while addressing inflation concerns.
The Group of 20 (G20) is an international organization that aims to unite world leaders around shared economic, political, and health challenges, with its members representing more than 80 percent of the world's economic output. The annual G20 summit brings together finance ministers and heads of state to discuss and address key issues, often culminating in a joint statement of collective action.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believes that the G20 leaders can address the enormous challenges facing the world and provide leadership, as he attends the summit in Delhi alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasized India's inclusive approach to the G20 presidency and proposed granting the African Union permanent membership.
The G20 leaders have adopted the New Delhi Declaration, emphasizing economic growth, sustainable development goals, green development, and multilateralism, while hailing Prime Minister Modi's leadership in shaping the G20 agenda.
G20 leaders have adopted a green development pact to address the challenges of environment and climate change, emphasizing the pursuit of sustainable economic growth and development.
India has spent ₹4,100 crore on hosting the G20 summit, four times the amount allocated in the budget, while other countries have spent significantly less on previous summits.
India's G20 presidency has been hailed as highly ambitious, achieving 112 outcomes and presidency documents and addressing key global issues such as sustainable development goals, climate action, and women-led development, while receiving exceptional support from developing nations and emerging markets.
G20 leaders have committed to reforming the dysfunctional World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system by 2024, aiming to improve global trade and reduce protectionism.
India has successfully achieved its finance track objectives during its G20 presidency, including strengthening Multilateral Development Banks, creating a global regulatory framework for crypto assets, promoting financial inclusion through digital infrastructure, resolving debt for lower and middle-income countries, and financing sustainable cities, among other accomplishments, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for global reforms and urged world leaders at the G20 summit to make global structures, including the UN Security Council, reflective of current realities and emphasized the need for India's permanent membership at the UNSC.
World Bank president Ajay Banga has stated that the bank's vision is being redefined to focus on eradicating poverty on a livable planet and includes elements such as climate, fragility, and pandemics, while also emphasizing the collaboration with multilateral development banks and the inclusion of the private sector in renewable energy investments.
The 2023 New Delhi Summit of the G20 has been a success, with India demonstrating its ability to organize a global event; however, the summit's ability to produce substantial solutions to world problems, particularly the geopolitical crisis, is questionable. The summit managed to come up with a joint leaders' declaration, including language on Ukraine that accommodates all shades of opinion. The summit also focused on issues such as debt restructuring, climate change, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and terrorism financing. However, the effectiveness of these actions will depend on whether countries actually implement them.
The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration highlights the commitment of the G20 countries to achieve global net zero emissions and triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, while also recognizing the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and different national circumstances.
The World Bank is seeking funding from the private sector to expand its lending capacity and address global challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and food insecurity, according to its president Ajay Banga; U.S. President Joe Biden has called on G20 leaders to support the World Bank in order to increase its ability to assist low and middle-income countries.
The G20 summit in India is expected to deliver a group agreement on the need for stricter global regulation on crypto assets, but the underlying fractures and shifting allegiances may render the focus more noise than substance.
The Biden administration has prioritized reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with a proposed financing package to increase their lending capacity by $50 billion, emphasizing the need for more resources and a new approach to support developing countries in addressing poverty and the climate crisis.
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers believes that a combination of free market forces, infrastructure improvement, and public sector reform could lead to an eight-fold expansion of India's economy by 2050, with an annual growth rate of 8%. Summers also urged multilateral development banks (MDBs) to address pressing issues like climate change, warning that failure to do so may lead to the creation of new institutions. Summers emphasized the importance of transforming MDBs to meet the challenges facing the world.
The independent expert group on multilateral development bank (MDB) reforms is encouraged by the response to their recommendations, but believes that there is still a long way to go for effective implementation; they also discuss the shift in developed countries' stance, addressing issues around private funding and MDB reform, the threat of inflation, the slowing Chinese economy, and the potential for India to absorb manufacturing from China.
The U.S. Treasury Department is urging the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to leverage shareholder capital commitments to increase lending capacity for developing countries by April 2024 in order to address global challenges like climate change and poverty.
The World Bank is exploring ways to expand the guarantees it offers for commercial loans to increase private financing options for developing countries, particularly for climate change initiatives, as some emerging economies struggle to access international markets due to rising interest rates and global uncertainties.
