G20 Summit’s 2nd Digital Economy Working Group Meeting Kicks Off in Hyderabad
1 year ago Rituka MWith the motto ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future,’ G20 Summit 2022-2023 has reached its milestone of hosting 100 meetings so far. Organizing the second meeting of the Digital Economy Working Group in Hyderabad from 17th to 19th April 2023, the G20 Summit is set to explore multiple thematic areas over a span of panel discussions.
Group 20 Summit – What is it?
The Group of Twenty (G20) forum for international economic cooperation was founded in 1999 and is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency. The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Canada; China; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Italy; Japan; Republic of Korea; Mexico; Russia; Saudi Arabia; South Africa; Türkiye; United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union. Moreover, the G20 countries also invite multiple non-member countries and international organizations to partake in these discussions. Further, aiming to improve business cooperation on a global scale, the G20 forum has expanded to include trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change, and anti-corruption.
G20 brings together member countries to discuss global economic developments and shape and strengthen global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues. Further, the G20 Presidency consists of 3 countries (the Troika) that steer the G20 agenda. They are the past, current, and present president. Currently, India is leading the G20 Summit for the year 2022-23. Prior to India, the presidency was held by Indonesia. India took over the G20 presidency from Indonesia on December 1, 2022, and will keep it until November 30, 2023. After the term of India, the presidency will rotate to Brazil.
The Theme For G20 2023
Drawing inspiration from the Indian National Flag, the G20 logo is a mixture of saffron, white, green, and blue. Further, the logo also beautifully portrays Planet Earth with the Indian National Flower, Lotus. Finally, signifying India’s pro-planet approach to ensuring and promoting sustainability; the motto of India’s G20 leadership is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,†or “One Earth, One Family, One Futureâ€ÂÂ. ÂÂÂ
The G20 Summit begins with two parallel tracks: the Sherpa track and the Finance track. The summit began on 4th December 2022 and will continue until 25th August 2023 with around 200 meetings across multiple Indian cities. Moreover, with the presidency, India has the power and opportunity to invite countries that are not a part of the G20. Additionally, this year, India has sent special invitations to countries like Bangladesh, Mauritius, Singapore, Egypt, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, and Spain.
The 2nd meeting of ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group’ in Hyderabad – 17th to 19th April, 2023
Overall, throughout the schedule, there are a total of five meetings scheduled in Hyderabad. They will be exploring topics such as Digital Economy, Health, and Agriculture. From 17th to 19th April 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will be organizing the second in-person meeting of the ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG)’ in Hyderabad.
In the curtain raiser press conference, the officials said; that the first day of the second meeting of DEWG will begin with side events on April 17, 2023. Further, the inaugural address will be given by Union Minister of State of Communication, Devusinh Chauhan; and Union Minister of State of Social Justice & Empowerment, A. Narayanaswamy.
Further, the side events will primarily focus on Digital Connectivity and will comprise three-panel discussions on the thematic areas namely; ‘High-Speed Mobile Broadband and its Impact on Lives, Society and Industry’, ‘Digital Inclusion: Connecting the Unconnected’, and ‘Sustainable, Green Digital Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities’. During the discussions, several global experts will share their experience in emerging & telecom technologies and in technology-led inclusive development.
On the 2nd and 3rd days, the G20 Members, invited guest countries and International Organisations will have an extensive discussion on the actionable deliverables; in priority areas namely ‘Cybersecurity’, ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’, and ‘Digital Skilling’. Moreover, the delegates will visit the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad campus to gain first-hand insight into India’s expertise in emerging digital and telecom technologies viz; 5G-i, 6G, Internet of Things (IoT) and the various use cases pertaining to the welfare of citizens. A workshop titled ‘Multi-stakeholder Consultation for Mutual Recognition of Digital Skills’ will also be held on April 18, 2023.
Additionally, under the Indian presidency, two campaigns; the ‘Stay Safe Online (SSO)’ campaign and the ‘G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA)’ were launched to engage with common people, especially the youth and entrepreneurs in the G20 Member States. Since the inception of these campaigns, under the Stay Safe Online campaign, 1,58,000+ persons have participated in national-level Cyber Quizzes. Moreover, under the DIA, 1600+ Startups have applied for the contest.
This is an amazing opportunity for the Telangana State to build connections and showcase the growth of India as an economy and expert in IoT and digital and telecom technologies.
