Ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to be new G-20 Sherpa

India will hold the presidency of G20 till 2023, and the need for a full-time Sherpa for this duration has called for the decision of appointing the Ex-NITI Aayog CEO the one.

• Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has been appointed as India’s new Sherpa for the G-20, replacing Mr.Piyush Goyal.
• The last G-20 Sherpa summit was organised in September 2021.
• The G-20 Leaders’ Summit is going to held in India for the first time in 2023.
• Some of the previous Sherpas for the G-20 include Suresh Prabhu, Shaktikanta Das and Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
• Role of Sherpa is to participate in about 100 official meetings that are expected to be organised in the areas of employment, health, digital economy, trade, investment and industry, environment and climate, energy, anti-corruption, agriculture, tourism, culture, socio-economic development, education, and women empowerment.

What is a Sherpa?

• A Sherpa is the personal representative of a head of state or government who prepares an international summit, particularly the annual G7 and G20 summits.
• They help to reduce the amount of time and resources required at the negotiations of the heads of state at the final summit.
• The name Sherpa—without further context—refers to Sherpas for the G7 summit, but the designation can be extended to different regular conferences where the participation of the head of state is required.
• The Sherpa is generally quite influential, although they do not have the authority to make a final decision about any given agreement.
• The name is derived from the Sherpa people, a Nepalese ethnic group, who serve as guides and porters in the Himalayas, a reference to the fact that the Sherpa clears the way for a head of state at a major summit.

Role of G20

• The G-20 brings together the world’s developed and developing economies.
• It accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.
• G20 is an influential forum for international economic cooperation.

Composition

• The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
• Spain as a permanent, non-member invitee, also attends leader summits.

How G20 Works?

The work of G20 is divided into two tracks:

• The finance track comprises all meetings with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors and their deputies. Meeting several times throughout the year they focus on monetary and fiscal issues, financial regulations, etc.
• The Sherpa track focuses on broader issues such as political engagement, anti-corruption, development, energy, etc.
• Each G20 country is represented by its Sherpa; who plans guides, implements, etc. on behalf of the leader of their respective country. (Indian Sherpa, at the G20 in Argentina, 2018 was Shri Shaktikanta Das)