Union Cabinet approves preparations for India's G20 presidency starting Dec 1

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the setting up of a G20 secretariat and its reporting structures that will be responsible for making arrangements to steer India's forthcoming presidency of the influential grouping.

India will hold the presidency of the G20 from December 1 to 30 November  2023, culminating with the G20 Summit in India next year. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the G20 secretariat will be guided by an apex committee headed by the prime minister and it will comprise the finance minister, the home minister, the external affairs minister and India's G20 sherpa.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is the G20 sherpa. 

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today 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," the MEA said in a statement.

G20 Secretariat to remain functional till February 2024

The G-20 is a leading global forum that brings together the world's major economies. Its members account for more than 80 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the population of the planet.

"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," the MEA said.

"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," it said.

The government said the secretariat will be functional till February 2024.

The MEA said a coordination committee will also be set up to oversee all G20 preparations and it will 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," the MEA said.

Italy held the G20 Presidency in 2021 while Indonesia is playing the role till November 2022. Italy, Indonesia and India are the G20 troika countries at present.