Contents

1. INDIA IN THE UN
2. INDIA’S G20 PRESIDENCY
3. MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS
4. PLURILATERAL DEVELOPMENTS
5. PEACE AND SECURITY

INDIA IN THE UN

India Elected Chair of 62nd Session of UN CSocD

For the first time since 1975, India has been elected as Chair of the 62nd Session of the UN Commission on Social Development on 15 February 2023. As a functional Commission of the ECOSOC, the CSocD serves as the primary inter-governmental body to deliberate upon and strengthen international cooperation on social development issues. The Commission reviews the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and the outcome of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. “Fostering Social Development and Social Justice through Social Policies to accelerate Progress on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication”. The theme underlines an intrinsic and important connection between social development and social justice as fundamentals to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Click here to read...

A Special Event Organised to Commemorate IYM2023

The Permanent Mission of India (New York) organised an exhibition on Millets at the UN Headquarters from 14-17 February 2023. The focus of the exhibition was on the different kinds of millets grown in India, their nutritional value and health benefits, including information on calorific content etc. Millet-based savories were the other attraction for the guests to taste, while millet grains were also placed on display. The event opened with a brief address by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, Permanent Representative (PR) of India to the UN, who shared the reasons why India pursued making 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM) and how millets were an important solution in the collective march towards the SDGs. It was announced that India plans to launch a global initiative, Millets International Initiative on Research and Awareness (MIIRA), aimed at encouraging millet research programs and promoting consumption of the healthy grain. Click here to read...

At C34 Meeting, India Emphasizes Mission Effectiveness

Participating in the deliberations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, India highlighted factors that would improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions such as increasing their mobility, agility and flexibility. The need for winding down redundant mission that were draining the resources available for peacekeeping was also emphasised. In view of the growing threat of armed violence and terrorist attacks in conflict areas, the need for capacity building of the security sector and rule of law institutions of host states was also underlined. Finally, the need for harnessing technology to improve the functioning of peacekeeping missions was highlighted. Click here to read...

On the Anniversary of Ukraine War, India Abstains on UNGA Resolution

Continuing its policy on Ukraine, India along with 32 other countries, abstained on a non-binding UNGA resolution on “Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” on 23 February 2023. The resolution received support of 141 countries. The resolution called for withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and urged member states to cooperate to address the global impacts of the war on food security, energy, finance, the environment and nuclear security. Explaining India’s vote, the PR said that the resolution did not bring the two parties together to resolve the conflict, nor does it suggest a mutually acceptable solution. It also does not address the issue of the ineffectiveness of the UN Security Council when confronted with such conflicts. That said, India she said looked forward to the early cessation of hostilities. Click here to read...

INDIA’S G20 PRESIDENCY

1st Education Working Group Meeting held

The first meeting of the Education Working group was held in Chennai from 31 January-2 February 2023. The meeting was attended by 80 delegates from 30 countries and international organizations from member nations and special invitees. Secretary Higher Education Shri. Sanjay Murthy explained that best practices in tech-related education in member countries were a major focus of discussion. Members expressed their willingness towards the goals and the priorities of the Indian presidency including capacity building measures for promoting life-long learning process in the context of the future of working atmospheres, finding long term sustainable solution to the similar educational challenges being faced by member countries placed in different geographies. The meet also discussed in a detailed manner areas for an inclusive, equitable, relevant and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Click here to read...

1st Sustainable Finance Working Group Meeting held

The first meeting of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) was held on 2-3 February 2023 in Guwahati, Assam. The meeting was attended in person by 95 delegates from G20 member countries, 10 invitee countries and 14 international organisations. At the meeting, three priority areas were discussed: mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance, enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals and capacity building of the ecosystem for financing toward sustainable development. To address these challenges, the SFWG will develop a G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP). It would include identification and analysis of existing capacity-building activities and identifying the existing sustainable finance skill gaps. Click here to read...

1stEmployment Working Group Meeting held

The first meeting of the Employment Working Group was held in Jodhpur from 2-4 February, 2023. The meeting focused on the three priority areas of the Indian Presidency namely, addressing global skills gaps, gig and platform economy and social protection and sustainable financing of social security. Union Minister for Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat called upon members of the international community to strive together to make meaningful progress in creating more opportunities for decent work and inclusive growth for all people. Presentations by international organisations, ILO and OECD highlighted the various types of imbalances between skills and qualifications in the labour market. An open discussion provided the participating countries with a platform for experience sharing on some of the existing conditions and legal framework for skill development in their respective countries. Click here to read...

1st Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting held

The Energy transitions Working Group held its first meeting from 6-7 February 2023 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. During the meeting, member countries responded positively to the need for energy security and diversified supply chains. Participants, however, shared the view that the energy transition pathway should be different for each country depending on its energy base and potential. Deliberations on Universal Access to Clean Energy, stressed the need to manage fuel prices and choice of technology to see that everyone on the planet has access to affordable energy. Member countries favoured a people-centric energy transition mechanism. On the sidelines, India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), Malaysia to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region. Click here to read...

1st Tourism Working Group Meeting held

The first Tourism Working Group meeting was held from 7-10 February 2023 in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. Discussions were held on the Indian Presidency identified five priority themes including Green Tourism: “Greening of tourism sector for a sustainable, responsible and resilient tourism sector”; Digitalization: “Harnessing the power of digitalization to promote competitiveness, inclusion and sustainability in tourism sector”; Skills: “Empowering youth with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship in tourism sector”; Tourism MSMEs: “Nurturing tourism MSMEs / Startups/ private sector to unleash innovation and dynamism in tourism sector” and Destination Management: “Rethinking the strategic management of destinations towards a holistic approach that delivers on the SDGs”. At one side-event, best practices, success stories, prospects, and issues in the field of rural tourism were discussed. Another special event on archeological tourism was held where its potential for providing socio economic development of local communities in a sustainable manner was underlined. Click here to read...

1st Environment Climate Sustainability Working Group Meeting held

The first meeting of the Environment Climate Sustainability Working Group was held from 9-10 February 2023 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The inaugural session was addressed by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs & Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri. Following this, there was a technical session on biodiversity and land degradation. The deliberations focused on accelerating action to achieve G20’s goal of reducing degraded land by 50% by 2040, through enhancing the G20 Global Initiative for Reducing Land Degradation (GIRLD) via a G20 Framework on Land Degradation. A second technical session was on Encouraging Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy. The delegates deliberated on the formulation of a G20 Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition aimed at fostering global partnerships among key industries for enhancing technological cooperation, exchange of ideas and mobilizing de-risked finance. Another key discussion was held on the implementation and replicability of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) at scale across the globe. Click here to read...

1st Culture Working Group Meeting held

The first meeting of the Culture working group was held from 23-24 Febraury 2023 at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. India had put forward four main themes for this meeting. These include Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property; Harnessing Living Heritage of Sustainable Future; Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy, and Leveraging of Digital Technology for Protection and Promotion of Culture. Mr. Ernesto Ottone R, Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Culture, talked about how the outcome of G20 CWG under the Indian presidency will be a vital contribution to firmly anchor Culture in the post 2030 agenda. This was followed by National statements and Presentations were made on the working process along with presentations by knowledge partner UNESCO. Click here to read...

1st Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting held

The first meeting of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of G20 countries was held from 24-25 February 2023 at Bengaluru, Karnataka. The meeting came up with a 17-point Chair’s Summary and Outcome Document which focused on debt vulnerabilities of many low and middle income countries, to “robust regulation, supervision and oversight to mitigate potential risks to financial stability” of the crypto ecosystem, MDB reforms, climate finance, digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, financing cities of tomorrow, and taxation. Click here to read...

MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS

WTO discusses Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD)

To carry forward the process of arriving at an IFD Agreement, 52 members of the WTO met on 1 February 2023. The co-coordinators emphasised the need for resolving the remaining issues in the Annex to the Draft Agreement and completing the review of the text; advancing work on investment facilitation needs assessment for developing and least-developed (LDC) country members; and intensifying outreach efforts towards other WTO members, explaining the Agreement's pro-development benefits. Regarding the work on needs assessment, members were updated on progress on the “Self-Assessment Guide”, developed in collaboration with several international organizations with experience in the investment facilitation field. At a more technical level, the plenary meeting gave participating members the opportunity to advance work on a series of provisions of the Draft IFD Agreement, regarding taxation measures, the definition of “authorization” for an investment and financial exceptions. Click here to read...

Aid for Trade Work Programme Adopted

The WTO Committee on trade and development adopted a work programme on Aid for Trade for 2023-24. The WTO-led Aid for Trade Initiative encourages developing country governments and donors to recognize the role that trade can play in meeting countries' development objectives. The initiative also encourages action to address the trade-related constraints identified by developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). Accordingly, members will focus on how Aid for Trade can support food security, digital connectivity and mainstreaming of trade for developing countries and LDCs. WTO members reiterated their support for the WTO-led initiative and the new work programme, emphasizing the importance of coordinated activities. Click here to read...

A Joint Statement on Food and Nutrition Crisis

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Group (WBG) President David Malpass, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the third joint statement calling for continued urgent action to address the global crisis on food and nutrition security. This was done in the light of the fact that global food supplies were projected to drop to a three-year low in 2022/2023 and this would severely impact 24 countries that FAO and WFP have identified as hunger hotspots, 16 of them being in Africa. They urged countries to contribute their efforts towards rescuing hunger hotspots, facilitating trade, improving the functioning of markets, and enhancing the role of the private sector, and reforming and repurposing harmful subsidies with careful targeting and efficiency. Click here to read...

PLURILATERAL DEVELOPMENTS

India hosts IPEF Negotiating Round

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted the special negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in New Delhi, India, from February 8-11, 2023. Approximately 300 officials from India, the United States, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in the deliberations. The round covered IPEF Pillars II (Supply Chains), III (Clean Economy), and IV (Fair Economy). The Commerce Secretary, Shri Sunil Barthwal, urged all participants to focus on creating more conducive environments for enhancing trade and investment linkages, development of resilient supply chains, and acceleration of sustainable development. Common tangible benefits of the forum like capacity building; technical assistance, including sharing of expertise and best practices; investments, innovative projects, etc., were underlined. Click here to read...

India-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meet

The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held on a virtual platform on 10 February 2023. The Ministers meeting approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023. The workplan includes the capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security, Application of IoT & AI in Next Generation Smart City & Society 5.0, Sustainable Data and Transport Network for Future: Standards and Applications, 5G technologies for IoT and future trends, Role of ICT in implementation of Digital Health and Security protection and assessment for future network, etc. Click here to read...

BIMSTEC Energy Centre Governing Board meets

India hosted the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) on 27th February, 2023 at Bengaluru, Karnataka. As the Host of the BIMSTEC Energy Centre, India made a presentation on establishing the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) in India. It was conveyed to the member countries that the BEC will be housed in the premises of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bengaluru. The Meeting considered and finalized the Note on “Host Country Agreement between the Government of Republic of India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat”. Click here to read...

SCO and partner nations participate in MSDE seminar

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) organised a seminar today on Building Capacities through skill training and New Generation of Entrepreneurs in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Partner Nations towards usage and set up of digital IT platforms. At the seminar, India presented its best practices on digital transformation across different sectors in areas of health, education, skilling, IT and more, with a special focus on sectors that helped cater to the welfare challenges faced by the masses during the pandemic. The sessions were attended by eight member countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, Maldives, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, 50 delegates joined in a hybrid mode from SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners. During the sessions, many case studies and best practices were shared which emphasized on the need for institutions to be aligned and for the stakeholders to be more engaged to achieve digital integration across SCO partner nations. Further, the need to strengthen the capacities of aspiring entrepreneurs was emphasised upon along with empowering small businesses through skill-based capacity building with the usage of IT platforms, entrepreneurship initiatives and trends. Click here to read...

1. PEACE AND SECURITY

MONUSCO Trains Women Mediators

On February 17, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) organised an awareness-raising and capacity-building session for some twenty women in the town of Beni in North Kivu. The training session led to the creation of a core group of women mediators for conflict resolution.This action by MONUSCO for women in North Kivu is based on UN Resolution 1325, which is a tool for drawing women's attention to their participation in efforts to promote peace in their communities. The MONUSCO Gender Officer argued that Congolese women have almost always been excluded from peace negotiations, under the pretext that they have no training or interest in security issues. The participants promised to conduct feedback sessions in their communities to encourage a greater engagement of women in finding peaceful ways and means of resolving all kinds of conflict in the region. Click here to read...

UNSC briefed on Da’esh

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Voronkov, presented the latest report on the Da’esh to the Security Council. Briefing the Council, he said that despite leadership losses and diminishing cash reserves, Da’esh’s threat to international peace and security remains high. That threat has increased in and around conflict zones where the group and its affiliates are active, and their expansion is particularly worrying in Central and Southern Africa, as well as in the Sahel region. He pointed out that foreign terrorist fighters are found beyond Iraq and Syria and are more lethal as compared to homegrown terrorists. Click here to read...