Bengaluru to host first G20 Finance & Central Bank Deputies meeting

Bengaluru, Dec 12: The first Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting under India's G20 Presidency is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru during December 13-15. This meeting will mark the start of talks on the 'Finance Track' agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency, will be 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, an official release said. It provides an effective forum for global economic discourse and policy coordination, it said, the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting will be held during February 23-25, 2023 in Bengaluru, as reported by PTI.

The meeting of G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies will be 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 several other countries and international organisations invited by India, will participate in the two-day meeting.

According to the 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 the Indian 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 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 G20 Finance Track will ultimately be reflected in the G20 Leaders' Declaration.