Mumbai, 10–11 May 2023: Under the auspices of India’s Group of Twenty (G20) Presidency, Think 20 (T20), the official engagement group of G20, hosted a 3-day mid-year conference in Mumbai. The conference brought together more than 100 experts, policymakers, and students from G20 countries to exchange ideas and collaborative solutions to complex global challenges. The gathering focused on diverse topics, including green growth, technology for development, health, reformed multilateralism, gender dynamics in green transitions, and the future of work.

T20 serves as an ‘idea bank’ for G20 by bringing together high-level experts and policymakers to discuss global issues relevant to G20.  

Opening the conference, Mr Amitabha Kant, Sherpa of the G20 India Presidency, acknowledged the challenges in navigating the complex geopolitical and economic issues in a most turbulent period. He emphasised the significance of bridging the gap amongst G20 member countries that need intellectual inputs from academia and think tanks. He said think tanks must work within multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary settings to find common solutions.

In his keynote address, Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and Chair of T20, talked about reformed multilateralism and called for genuine reforms within the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, Bretton Woods, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank to better deal with global challenges.

The conference comprised seven thematic panel discussions, each aligned with a specific task force: TF1—Macroeconomics, Trade, and Livelihoods: Policy Coherence and International Coordination; TF2—Our Common Digital Future: Affordable, Accessible and Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure; TF3—LiFE, Resilience, and Values for Wellbeing; TF4—Refuelling Growth: Clean Energy and Green Transitions; TF5—Purpose and Performance: Reassessing the Global Financial Order; TF6—Accelerating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda; and TF7—Towards Reformed Multilateralism: Transforming Global Institutions and Frameworks.

Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Director of Research Strategy and Innovations at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and Co-chair of TF2, joined the deliberations on a common digital future. The task force discussed how G20 countries can foster a framework for global digital commons and look at how digital public infrastructure can support the broader SDGs. Interacting with students, the panellists discussed the pathways to making digital public infrastructure more inclusive, trustworthy, and of service to global goods. They deliberated on the content of the statement and the draft recommendations intended for inclusion in the final communiqué of the T20 conference. The T20–Task Force recommendations, synthesised into policy briefs, are presented to G20 working groups, ministerial meetings, and leaders’ summits to help the G20 deliver concrete policy measures.

To date, T20 has organised 40 side events, published 35 forms, and written 20 of the planned 400 plus policy briefs. ERIA has contributed several of these under the thematic areas of macroeconomy and trade, digital connectivity, and life and green transition. The T20 India summit will be held on 1–2 August 2023 in Mysuru.