The announcement that "India receives the G20 presidency for 2023" and gets declared the "host country for the G20 Summit 2023", has aroused keen interest among a large group of Indians towards this subject.

So, If you're looking for neat and detailed answer to "what is G20?", and its impact on the global economy; this piece is for you. Read ON!

What is G20? & What is G20 Summit?

The G20 is an acronym for ‘Group of Twenty’. It is an intergovernmental forum with 19 countries and European Union as its members.

An annual meeting is held between these members for discussions on preset progress agendas. This meeting of leaders to discuss international issues of high importance each year to mark collective progress as an international coming is called the G20 Summit.

What is the purpose/mandate of the G20 Summit?

G20 aims to address the issues related to global financial stability, climate change, and sustainable development. It facilitates economic cooperation between developed and developing countries towards achieving the set objectives.

A Brief History of G20:

G20 originated during the 1999 G7 Summit in Cologne, Germany. Initially, G20 was established as the Finance Ministers’ meeting to discuss macroeconomic and financial policies. The inaugural meeting was convened in Berlin from 15-16 December 1999.

The then-Finance Minister of Canada Mr. Paul Martin was appointed as G20’s first chairman, and the then-Finance Minister of Germany Mr. Hans Eichel hosted the inaugural meeting.

Mr. Paul Martin is regarded by many as ‘the crucial architect’ for the Finance Minister-level meetings. He also is the one to have proposed G20 to be a Leaders-level Summit.

In 1999, G20 was initiated to tackle the rising debt crisis. But, it was the 2008 financial crisis that became a catalyst for it to become  Leaders-level Summit.

The first Leaders-level summit in 2008 was hosted by the then US President Mr. George W Bush in Washington DC.

Who are the members of G20?

G20 comprises 19 countries and representatives of the EU as its members. The complete list of countries that are a part of the G20 is as follows:

1. Argentina
2. Brazil
3. China
4. Germany
5. Indonesia
6. Japan
7. Republic of Korea
8. South Africa
9. United States of America
10. European Union
11. Australia
12. Canada
13. France
14. India
15. Italy
16. Mexico
17. Russia
18. Saudi Arabia
19. United Kingdom
20. Turkey

Economic Importance of G20:

G20 is the largest International grouping of leaders. The data from International Monetary Fund shows that G20 countries account for 80% of the world’s total output. These countries collectively also account for 75% of international trade.

With respect to geographical distribution, G20 covers two-thirds of the global population and 60% of the world land area.

Hence, the decisions and policies of G20 impact the world as a whole.

List of past G20 Summits:

The first Leaders-level G20 summit was organized and hosted by the USA in 2008. G20 doesn’t have a permanent secretariat; instead, the presidency is rotated among different member countries annually, based on the regional grouping.

The past presidency and hosts of G20 summits are as follows:

2008: USA
2009: Canada
2010: South Korea
2011: France
2012: Mexico
2013: Russia
2014: Australia
2015: Turkey
2016: China
2017: Germany
2018: Argentina
2019: Japan
2020: Saudi Arabia
2021: Italy
2022: Indonesia

Past themes of the G20 summits:

The host country (through a discussion with all other member countries) selects a theme for that particular year. The discussions and impact is in line with this selected theme. 
The themes of the last 5 summits have been:

2018: The future of work, Infrastructure for development and a Sustainable food future
2019: There were 8 themes- Global Economy, Trade and Investment, Innovation, Environment, and Energy, among others
2020: Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century For All
2021: People, Planet, Prosperity
2022: Recover Together, Recover Stronger

2023 G20 Presidency and G20 Summit:

The presidency of G20 Summit for 2023 has been passed onto India by the host and president of G20 Summit for 2022 - Indonesia. India will now be hosting the 2023 G20 Summit in September 2023 [tentatively] in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Now that you've come this far in your knowledge about G20, there are 2 additional terms that you must know about: Sherpa and Troika.

Who are G20 Sherpas?

The term ‘Sherpa’ in the context of G20 refers to reach of the representatives of the G20 countries. These Sherpas work together and hold several meetings to lay out possible agreements that can be worked upon in the Leaders’ summit.

By working together and arriving at possible agreements, these sherpas reduce the negotiation time and resource requirement at the final Leaders’ summit.

The name ‘Sherpa’ is derived from the Nepalese Ethnic group who are the guides in the Himalayas.

What is G20 Troika? Why is this Troika special?

Troika refers to the group of countries that comprises of the preceding, current, and upcoming presidency of G20.

The current presidency country works alongside the predecessor and the successor to ensure the continuity of the agenda(s).

The current Troika(as of 2022-23), in particular  is special because of the fact that all the 3 countries that are part of this Troika are developing countries. This provides a unique opportunity to channel the focus on the issues faced by developing countries.

Objectives & Focus of G20 Summits:

While global financial stability and macroeconomic policies are at the core of G20 Summits' agendas, other priorities that have been addressed unto date are:

- Food and Energy Security
- Climate change
- Inclusivity
- Sustainable & Equitable growth
- Empowerment of women
- Digital infrastructure for the public
- Adoption of technology for the development

2023 Special:

Soon after assuming the Presidency of G20 on December 1st, 2022, the respected Prime Minister of India- Mr. Narendra Modi announced the motto of this year's G20 Summit as ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

He has also stated that the agenda will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive.

Updates:
We shall update this article with the exact dates of the G20 summit for 2023 as and when it is announced officially.

Check out this piece regularly or keep it bookmarked for updates on the G20 Summit 2023.

If you have any updates or information on G20 Summit 2023 or about G20 in general that you would like to share with the readers, feel free to drop them in the comments to this twitter thread on G20 Summit for 2023.
Image Credits:
Image 2: Reuters
Image 3: Associated Press