Manipur hosts B20 Conference

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is B20 Conference?
• Working of B20
• About G20 Summit
• Working of G20

Why in News?

• Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh inaugurated a conference on ‘Opportunities for Multilateral Business Partnerships in ICT, Tourism, Healthcare and Handloom’ in Imphal.
• This was the first of the four sessions of B20 scheduled in Northeast India.

What is B20 Conference?

• The Business 20 (B20) is an event which is part of the G20 Summit. It is the voice of the G20 business community.
• More specifically, its main purpose consists in developing recommendations and issuing relevant commitments from the business leaders and business organizations to deal with nowadays issues.
• The B20 composes of an average of over 1,000 delegates from the G20 countries, including top executives from the leading multinational corporations.
• The first B20 Conference took place in South Korea in 2010.

Working of B20

• The B20 has no standing secretariat. The leadership rotates every year together with the G20 Presidency.
• The B20 delivers concrete actionable policy recommendations on priorities established by each rotation presidency to spur economic growth and development.
• Its working proceeding is based on Task Forces (TFs) and Action Councils (ACs) entrusted with developing consensus-based policy proposals to the G20 and to international organizations and institutions.
• Each TF is composed of around 100 businesses representatives from the G20 countries and from selected invited countries and international organisations.

About G20 Summit

Image Caption: G20 Countries

• The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union, established in 1999.
• Objective – To address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.
• Its members account for more than 80% of world’s GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.

Working of G20

• The forum has met every year since 1999 and includes, since 2008, a yearly Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.
• The Finance Track comprises all meetings with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors and their deputies.
• 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.

News Summary

• The 18^th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place on 9^th-10^th September 2023 in New Delhi, India. This also makes India the chair for the B20 Conference.
• Manipur is hosting the first of the four sessions of B20 — the official G20 dialogue forum for the global business community — scheduled in the Northeast India.
• Delegates from 23 nations are attending the conference.
• As part of the programme, the Chief Minister of Manipur, Biren Singh, is facilitating Business to Business and Business to Government meetings.
• The Government of Manipur is making elaborate arrangements to provide a unique experience for visiting delegates with an exposure to Manipur’s state’s culture, cuisine, art, festivities, and scenic beauty.

Q1) Is G20 part of the United Nations?

While the G20 does not belong to a specific unit of the United Nations, it is considered a fundamental part of the modern international system.

Q2) What is the role of Sherpas in G20?

A sherpa is the personal representative of a head of state or head of government in G20. The sherpas in G20 carry out important planning, negotiation and implementation tasks continuously. The Finance Track focuses on economic and financial issues. The Sherpa and Finance tracks both rely on the technical and substantive work of a series of expert working groups.

Source: Manipur hosts B20 Conference, delegates from 23 countries participate | B20 Business Summit