Mumbai's Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel were lit up to welcome G20 delegates out on a walk. As part of the walk, G20 delegates were seen enjoying the traditional culture of Maharashtra, with some playing the dhol.
Along with G20 delegates, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant also visited Gateway of India on December 13.
Cultural programs showcasing Maharashtra's folk dance and musical traditions were presented at the Gateway of India.
Speaking to ANI, Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator for India said, "It was a wonderful end to a fantastic day this G20 here and kicking off the development working group side sessions to begin with and then a wonderful evening, dinner, cultural events and topped off here at Gateway, really a fantastic evening."
Underscoring the importance of India's G20 Presidency, Sharp said, "India is incredibly, uniquely positioned in leading the G20, especially now at this moment, when the world is besieged with so many challenges. But, India has a kind of bridge of trust and partnerships across the high-income worlds, the lower developing world, and the global south. So, this is the time India's leadership is so important."
He added, "With that also comes the cultural diversity-rich offerings and that's what is wonderful about India's G20 presidency is having meetings all over the country in different places, so all of the delegates are getting exposed to the very rich diversity of India's culture."
Shombi Sharp said, "I think we have seen that play out obviously during the COVID crisis, trying to emerge from COVID and impact of the war in Ukraine on supply chains, inflation and cost of living going up.
Lauding India's COVID vaccination drive, Shombi Sharp said, "India has a lot of important lessons to offer to the world. So, as you mentioned the vaccines because India has such advanced digital public goods and infrastructure. India was able to ..an incredible vaccination drive."
Sharp further said, "Over 2 million doses now delivered already of COVID vaccines, combined with pharmaceutical industrial capacities here to create the vaccines in the first place and then the digital platforms COWIN, digital goods infrastructure, India was able to deliver effectively, efficiently as well. India's presidency is perfectly bringing all of those lessons, in particular in digital public goods for resilience in this time of crisis."
The first meeting of the Development Working Group (DWG) under India's G20 Presidency was held in Mumbai on December 13. Members, Guest countries and invited International Organizations attended the meeting.
The three-day Development Working Group meeting will focus on G20 collective actions for accelerating progress on the SDGs, and support developing countries in dealing with immediate concerns relating to food, fuel and fertiliser security.
The first day of the meeting witnessed two side events on "Data for Development (D4D): Role of G20 in advancing the 2030 Agenda" and "Infusing new LiFE into Green Development," according to the press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The D4D side event also hosted two breakout sessions on 'Rejuvenating Legacy Systems: From Data to Public Value Intelligence', and 'Models for the Future: Leveraging IoT, Big Data and AI for the SDGs.' The post-lunch side event was held under the theme, 'Infusing New LiFE into Green Development.'
( With inputs from ANI )
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