By Reporter Anna Kim  

Ambassador Song In-chang, the Sherpa for the G20, participated in the '3rd G20 Sherpa Meeting' held from July 13 to 16 in Hampi, India.

At this meeting, representatives from G20 member countries and nine invited guest countries as well as major international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) attended, and substantive work on the drafting of the official G20 declaration to be announced at the G20 Summit in September began in earnest.

The nine invited guest countries for 2023 are Spain, Singapore, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria, and Oman.

As the current chair of the G20, India unveiled the first draft of the G20 declaration for this year, requesting participants to propose ambitious and action-oriented policies that would contribute substantially to addressing global challenges such as sustainable growth, climate change, digital transformation, clean energy transition, and food security.

The Sherpas of member countries worked on modifications to the draft declaration, reflecting the views of each country on this year's key topics, including inclusive and sustainable growth, multilateral recovery, technological transition and digital public infrastructure (DPI), green development, and acceleration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement.

Most member countries expressed their support for multilateral recovery for sustainable growth and endorsed WTO reforms to achieve this. They also supported expanding and reforming Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) not only for poverty reduction but also to address global crises such as climate change. They hoped that ambitious results would be achieved in the discussions on increasing funding and reforming measures for MDBs during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting.

Member countries emphasized the need for climate change response and biodiversity restoration, advocating that the G20 declaration should include specific targets for achieving carbon neutrality. They agreed that the rapidly accelerating digital transformation should enhance inclusivity and promote green growth, and emphasized the importance of putting safeguards in place for digital technologies like generative AI to protect individuals' safety and rights.

Moreover, member countries expressed concerns about the slow progress of Sustainable Development Goals, as we are halfway to the 2030 target, and highlighted the significance of women's participation in the labor market and improving their status. Developing countries urged developed nations to boldly support them with funding and technology, especially in the face of recent crises related to food, health, global economic slowdown, and inflation, which have posed greater difficulties for people in poverty-stricken countries.

Ambassador Song empathized with the need for multilateral recovery, MDB reforms, acceleration of sustainable development, and achievement of gender equality. He emphasized global solidarity and cooperation for addressing complex crises. Particularly, he stressed the necessity of increasing global funding for climate change response and emphasized the importance of energy transition tailored to each country's situation. 

He also mentioned that digital technologies should contribute to expanding human freedom and laid out the need to establish fundamental principles for constructing a new digital order.

Based on the discussions at this meeting, the G20 Sherpas agreed to hold approximately 15 additional virtual meetings in mid-August to produce a final consensus on the G20 declaration. The next G20 Sherpa meeting will be held in New Delhi, India, from September 3 to 6, just before the G20 Summit, which will take place on September 9 and 10. The Sherpas will strive to coordinate the final version of the declaration at this meeting.

The Korean government plans to actively participate in the drafting of the G20 declaration by promoting cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies, as a key global nation, to contribute to addressing current global issues such as climate change, digital transformation, and food and energy security."