Two-day 'Think-20' meeting under G20 in Bhopal

A 'Think-20' meeting under the G20 will begin in Bhopal on Monday during which experts and foreign guests will discuss various topics including 'Global Governance with LiFE, Values, and Wellbeing', officials said.

The two-day meeting will be attended by 94 representatives from different countries, besides intellectuals and officials from India, an official release said.

The main speaker at the inaugural session will be Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will attend the inaugural function of the event, to be held at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Centre in Bhopal.

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Other speakers during the inaugural session will be Indonesia's Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Law, Defence and Security Slamet Soedarsono, Chief Coordinator for India's G20 Presidency Harsh Vardhan Shringla and NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery, the release said.

The session will also be addressed by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Director General Sachin Chaturvedi and Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Director General Sujan Chinoy, the release said.

There will be 10 parallel sessions on the first day on various topics including institutional framework, investing in children as an investment in future, financing resilient cities and societies, economic systems transformation and one health wellness and traditional medicine.

Talking to reporters on Sunday evening, Shringla said it is a very critical time both globally and in India.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the greatest shock to the international system since the Second World War and no sooner had they recovered from it, there is the Ukraine Crisis which has resulted in fuel and food shortages and inflation has been going up worldwide, he said.

This is a time of great concern all over the world, he said.

"We are very well placed to provide solutions that the world wants to see the G20 address as well as take bold, inclusive and result-oriented steps under our presidency," Shringla said.

RIS Director General Chaturvedi told reporters that Think-20 or T-20 is an important part of the G20 engagement groups in which the world's research institutions discuss G20-related issues.

Hope, harmony, peace and stability are defining ideas that will frame India's G20 presidency, he said.

The guests from India and abroad will also visit the Tribal Museum in Bhopal. There will also be a cultural programme and dinner at the museum on the first day of the event.

The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.