India hosts 1st G20 Sherpa meeting under its presidency

NEW DELHI, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The first G20 Sherpa meeting under India's presidency began Sunday evening in the western state of Rajasthan, officials said.

The meeting started in Udaipur, about 396 km southwest of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.

"The first Sherpa meeting of India's G20 presidency, chaired by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant commenced today in Udaipur," an official said. "The meeting kick started at 5:00 p.m. (local time) this evening with a panel discussion on accelerating implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

According to an official statement issued by India's G20 presidency, the four-day gathering from Sunday to Wednesday will set the stage for important conversations on some of the most pressing global issues.

"The first G20 Sherpa meeting under India's presidency sets the tone and agenda for future meetings, during which, India will have the opportunity to convene discussions on shared global priorities with G20 Members and guests," said the statement.

"The Sherpa meeting in Udaipur will work towards building consensus on a diverse range of global issues in various G20 Workstreams and bring the focus to key global priorities."

India formally took over the presidency of G20 bloc on Thursday.

G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. India was handed over the presidency of the influential bloc at the closing ceremony of the previous G20 summit in Bali that was hosted by Indonesia on Nov. 15 and 16.

India will host as many as 200 meetings across the country over the next one year. The next G20 summit will be held on Sept. 9 and 10, 2023 in New Delhi.