57 representatives from 14 member countries, 8 guest countries and 10 international organizations participated in the G20 Infrastructure Working Group Meeting
Posted Date – Tue, 28 Mar 23 at 07:35pm
file photo.
Visakhapatnam: The opening day of the second meeting of the two-day G20 Infrastructure Working Group, which is chaired by G20 India, concluded here on Tuesday.
57 representatives from 14 member states, 8 guest countries and 10 international organizations attended the meeting. The G20 IWG meeting aimed to further discuss the infrastructure agenda 2023 during India’s G20 presidency.
On Tuesday, discussions focused on the flagship priority ‘Financing the Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable’, along with other priorities outlined in the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda.
The flagship theme “Financing Tomorrow’s Cities – Inclusion, Resilience and Sustainable Development” discusses various aspects of making cities centers of economic growth, financing urban infrastructure, and building future-proof urban infrastructure.
Other important topics were discussed at the meeting, such as innovative financing models to scale up private sector investment to address the infrastructure financing gap for creating cities of the future, and the potential application of the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) metric to infrastructure projects.
On the sidelines, the conference also held a roundtable of international organizations to discuss infrastructure taxonomies. Up to 13 international experts discussed the role of infrastructure definitions and taxonomies in making better data-driven decisions.
The side event saw the participation of experts from leading international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme, OECD, IMF, Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Representatives from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics presented case studies on improving national infrastructure spending.
In the evening, the delegates also took part in a ‘Ratri Bhoj Par Samvad’ (dinner conversation) which gave them the opportunity to enjoy Andhra Pradesh’s rich cultural heritage and sample local delicacies.
Overall, the delegates had a productive meeting and enjoyed the cultural experience Visakhapatnam has to offer.
On Wednesday, the presidential palace also plans to host a “health retreat” for delegates on the waterfront. During the retreat, delegates will be introduced to yoga, meditation and sattvic food.
After that, the IWG will continue to discuss the rest of the agenda and the formal IWG session will be concluded.
