G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting underway in Bengaluru

PTI, Dec 13, 2022, 11:25 AM IST

Bengaluru: The first meeting of Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) under India’s G20 Presidency got underway here on Tuesday.

The agenda for the meeting includes sessions on global economy, international financial architecture, infrastructure, and sustainable finance.

”1st Meeting of G20 Finance Track under #G20India gets underway. With its focus on global macroeconomic issues, the Finance Track is quintessential to G20 shaping the global architecture on all major international economic issues,” a tweet from G20 India twitter handle said.

The three-day gathering, which will mark the start of discussions on the ‘Finance Track’ agenda, under India’s G20 Presidency, is being hosted jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India.

The G20 Finance Track, led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of G20 countries, focuses on economic and financial issues. It provides an effective forum for global economic discourse and policy coordination.

The first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held between February 23-25, 2023 in Bengaluru.

The G20 FCBD meeting that began today is co-chaired by Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Dr Michael D Patra, Deputy Governor of RBI.

Their counterparts from G20 member countries, and from several other countries and international organisations invited by India, are participating in the meeting.

According to an official release, the G20 Finance Track discusses key issues of relevance for the global economy, encompassing the global economic outlook, the international financial architecture, infrastructure development and financing, sustainable finance, global health, international taxation and financial sector issues, including financial inclusion.

In the Bengaluru meeting, discussions will focus on the agenda for the Finance Track under India’s G20 Presidency.

This includes reorienting international financial institutions to meet the shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing ‘cities of tomorrow’, managing global debt vulnerabilities, advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, financing for climate action and United Nations SDGs, a globally coordinated approach to unbacked crypto assets and advancing the international taxation agenda.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a panel discussion will be held on ‘Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks to Address Shared Global Challenges of the 21st Century’. A seminar on the ‘Role of Central Banks in Green Financing’ will also be held.

Approximately 40 meetings of the Finance Track will be held in several locations in India, which include meetings of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The discussions in the Finance Track will ultimately be reflected in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration.