Rishikesh/Narendra Nagar
The third G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under the Indian G20 Presidency commenced on 26th June 2023 in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The three-day IWG meeting is being attended by about 63 delegates across G20 member countries, invitee countries, and international organisations. The agenda of the discussions is to further the discussions on the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda and follow up on the discussions held during the second IWG meeting in March 2023 in Visakhapatnam.
On Day 1 of the meeting, two sessions were organized, wherein the delegates discussed two workstreams under the flagship “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”. The delegates thanked the Indian Presidency for the warm hospitality and acknowledged the efforts of the Presidency to achieve meaningful progress across the workstreams.
The meeting was also complemented by the “High-Level seminar on creating liveable cities” organized by the Indian Presidency and AIIB. The discussions across the three sessions allowed G20 decision-makers to learn key challenges, from climate change to infrastructure resiliency, fast urbanization, and inclusiveness, along with exploring the role of technology, Infratech and digitization. The delegates also heard a unique perspective on launching one of the world’s most ambitious new city developments: NUSANTARA in Indonesia. The side event was represented by a distinguished panellist from Harvard University, World Resource Institute, C40 Cities, and the University of Cambridge. The mayor of Dhaka, North Bangladesh, also shared his views on ways to support municipalities and cities in making them sustainable and inclusive.
The delegates were also hosted for “Ratri Bhoj Par Samvad’ (Conversation over Dinner) and enjoyed the rich cultural heritage of Uttarakhand and relished the local cuisines.
The Presidency has also planned a “Yoga Retreat” on 27th June 2023 for the delegates to experience.
