G20: Third Infrastructure meeting in Rishikesh deliberates infra as an asset class
The group deliberates on various aspects of infrastructure investments including developing infrastructure as an asset class, promoting quality infrastructure investment and identifying innovative instruments for mobilizing financial resources for infrastructure investment.
The high profile third G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under G20 Indian Presidency is taking place in the holy city of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand from 26th to 28th June 2023. The meetings intend to further the discussions on the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency and follow up on the discussions held during the second IWG meeting held in March 2023 in Visakhapatnam and the third concluded in January 2023 in Pune. The delegates participating in the meeting include 63 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries and international organizations.
The group deliberates on various aspects of infrastructure investments including developing infrastructure as an asset class, promoting quality infrastructure investment and identifying innovative instruments for mobilizing financial resources for infrastructure investment.
The outcomes of the Infrastructure Working Group feed into the G20 Finance Track priorities and promote Infrastructure Development. In the third meeting, substantive progress is expected to be discussed towards the various work streams of the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda.
The flagship priority to be discussed in this meeting is “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”, along with other priorities. Various official meetings and cultural programmes have also been planned for the delegates during the meeting.
The delegates will also experience Rishikesh’s rich culture and beautiful landscapes. On the sidelines of the IWG meetings, two side events have also been planned. On 26th June, the “High-Level Seminar on Roadmap to Sustainable Cities” is being organized in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The discussions across the three sessions on 26th June, will allow G20 decision-makers to hear key challenges from climate change to infrastructure resiliency, fast urbanization and inclusiveness along with exploring the role of technology, Infratech and digitization.
The delegates will also learn from a unique perspective in launching one of the world’s most ambitious new city development NUSANTARA, in Indonesia. Many International and national experts are joining the discussion. On 27th June, “A Roundtable on Making India an MRO Hub” is scheduled with an agenda to discuss opportunities that India has to offer in the MRO space.
Earlier, the second G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under the G20 India Presidency concluded on 28th March 2023 in Visakhapatnam. It was aimed at furthering the discussions on the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency. Discussions focused on the flagship priority, “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”, along with other priorities outlined in the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda.
The discussions also included on the flagship theme of “Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable” discussed various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure etc during the second meeting.
The second meeting also discussed other important themes such as innovative financing models to scale up private sector investment to address the infrastructure financing gap for creating future cities and discussing the potential application of the Quality Infrastructure Investment indicators across the infrastructure projects.
The first G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under G20 India Presidency concluded on 17th January 2023 in Pune. The two-day meeting discussed the flagship theme of “Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”, amongst others.
The meeting included discussions on various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, the role of cities in meeting sustainability targets, directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and mitigating social imbalances. The meeting also discussed other important themes, such as exploring ways to collate the data on Infrastructure spending and make the data useful for the private sector.
