G20 IWG meet concludes in Visakhapatnam

The two-day meeting was co-chaired by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, along with Australia and Brazil

Visakhapatnam: The Second G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under the Indian G20 Presidency concluded successfully in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The two-day meeting was co-chaired by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, along with Australia and Brazil. And 57 delegates from 14 G20 member countries, 8 invitees, and 10 international organizations attended the meeting physically.

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The agenda for the meeting involved discussions on the ways to augment financing in cities of tomorrow, along with other priorities outlined in the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda.

During the discussion, the members agreed on the way forward for important deliverables for the year, including the flagship theme of “Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”. On this agenda, members discussed various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure etc.

The members also discussed other important themes, such as innovative financing models to scale up private sector investment to address the infrastructure financing gap for creating future cities, and exploring potential application of the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) indicators across the infrastructure projects. The meeting also discussed ways to collate the data on Infrastructure spending and make the data useful for the private sector.

To experience the rich cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh as well as the diverse cuisine of the state, the delegates were also hosted for “Ratri Bhoj Par Samvad’ (Conversation over Dinner). The delegates were also hosted for a ‘health retreat’ on the beachfront. During the retreat, the delegates were introduced to yoga, meditation and sattvic food.

A Capacity Building Workshop for the G20 delegates will follow the two-day meetings on Thursday.

During the workshop, international experts from Korea and Singapore will discuss the international best practices of urban infrastructure financing. The outcome of the capacity building workshop will complement the flagship priority of Financing Cities of Tomorrow – Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable.

The Indian G20 Presidency will steer the 2023 G20 Infrastructure agenda to foster innovative thinking and expedite stakeholder collaboration across the outlined priorities.