Who are G20 sherpas and why are they crucial to the success of this summit?

The G20 Summit in slated to kick off in the National Capital tomorrow. Over 30 heads of states including US president Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, UK’s Rishi Sunak and thousands of delegates will be in attendance tomorrow. But the lead up to the G20 has been a frantic one with over 230 meetings in more than 60 cities across the nation.

This requires a lot of planning and execution – which is where the G20 sherpa come in. But who are they? What role do they play exactly? And why has this  G20 Summit  been so challenging for them? Let’s take a closer look: Also read: Why India’s G20 presidency is significant What is a sherpa? At an international summit meeting like the G7 or G20, a sherpa is a personal envoy of the head of a member nation.

The word originated from the Nepalese Sherpa ethnic group, who work as mountaineering guides in the Himalayas.

According to The Indian Express, the sherpa works on planning, negotiating, and implementing activities throughout the summit. They organise the agenda, look for political consensus at the highest levels, and take part in a number of pre-summit meetings – all to help their leaders better negotiate. [caption id=“attachment_12780682” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Delegates at the Second Sherpa meeting of the G20 Summit in Kumarakom, Kerala. PTI[/caption] In essence, they are career diplomats or high-ranking government officials chosen by their nations’ presidents. Each member nation at the summit is represented by one sherpa. They also participate in closed-door meetings, which also include representatives of international organisations and officials from guest governments. Representatives from particular working groups also participate in the meeting. Also read: Even as India seeks a G20 seat for AU, does the African Union require it? What’s the role of a sherpa? Sherpas meet well in advance of a summit to smoothen out conflicts on various matters. The G20 usually realses a  leaders’ declaration or communique at the end of its summit as standard diplomatic practice. It is the sherpas of various nations and finance track representatives that prepare this statement. The sherpa track engages on topics from 13 working groups including energy, trade and investment, development, employment, tourism, agriculture, digital economy, health, education, culture, environment and anti-corruption, as well as points from the two new groups — Disaster, Risk and Resilience Group and Startup20 Engagement Group — brought to the forefront by India under its presidency.

  Also read: G20 development ministers' meeting: Who is attending, what's being discussed? Who is representing India at G20? Amitabh Kant, the former CEO of NITI Aayog, is serving  as India’s new G-20 sherpa. Kant replaced  Piyush Goyal, the Minister for Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs – who was nominated to the position in September 2021. [caption id=“attachment_12790772” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Sherpa track engages on topics from 13 working groups ranging from energy, trade and investment, development, employment, and more. Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] Goyal, Suresh Prabhu, Shaktikanta Das, Arvind Panagariya, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia have all served as India’s G-20 sherpas. After leading the government research group for roughly six years, Kant finished his extended term there in May. Kant, a retired IAS officer from the 1980 batch (Kerala cadre), assumed the position of NITI Aayog CEO in 2016. He last received a one-year extension in June 2021, according to The Indian Express. Additionally, Kant served as the head of Empowered Group-3, one of the 11 organisations the Centre established to combat the Covid-19 epidemic. Also read: Which countries are skipping the G20 meet in Kashmir? Why has this summit been so difficult for them? Because of a couple of major issues have emerged as obstacles in the way of the joint declaration. Saudi Arabia and China have objected to language with regard to fossil fuels being phased down or out, while Russia is threatening to veto any communique that does not adequately take into account its view of the Ukraine war. While some sherpas have attempted to smooth things over by ‘accomodating’ China and Russia’s point of view over the Ukraine war, Western nations have complained that language recommended ‘doesn’t go far enough’. A failure to produce a communique would be a first in the G20’s history. G20 sherpas have been going back and forth over the precise language to be used in the document for four days. The sherpas made a last-ditch effort during a meeting in Nuh on Wednesday but failed to break the deadlock, as per Deccan Chronicle. Despite this, India’s G-20 sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday said the joint statement  is ‘almost ready’. Kant reiterated that the statement would mirror the thoughts and feelings of the developing nations and the Global South. “No document in the world would have such a strong voice for the Global South and the developing countries,” Kant added. Kant, however, added that he could give no voice to the declaration until the final decision is made. “G20 is an economic forum discussing growth and development. In Bali last year, issues of conflict that impact development like food, fuel and fertilisers were discussed and this year it has been a discussion, too. But the leaders will have to take the final decision,” Kant said How many sherpa meetings have been held? The first sherpa meeting for the 2023 G20 Summit took place in Udaipur in December 2022, and another one was conducted in Kumarakom, Kerala in March. According to The Times Of India, the third Sherpa meeting was held from 9 to 16 July in the historic ruins of Hampi in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district. As the first formal meeting of the Sherpa track began in Udaipur, India pointed to the significance of the Global South and listed accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth and progress on Sustainable Development Goals, particularly health and education, as key priorities of the G20 Summit. [caption id=“attachment_12780732” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] G20 Sherpa of India Amitabh Kant and other delegates during the G20 2nd Education Working Group meeting, in Amritsar, Thursday. PTI[/caption] The second Sherpa meeting in Kerala focused on the crucial part that Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) plays in enhancing development outcomes and India’s experience with DPI implementation at scale over the previous ten years for the entire day, according to The Hindu. As per the press release, the sherpas also took stock of the progress made in the various G20 Sherpa track working groups of Digital Economy, Health, Education, Tourism, Culture, Agriculture, Trade & Investment, Employment and Anti-Corruption. Also read: G20 foreign ministers’ meeting ends: How West sparred with Russia over Ukraine war Why is G20 important for India? The G20 or Group of 20, comprising Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU), is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. The G20, which unites the established and emerging economies of the globe and represents two-thirds of the world’s population and 85 per cent of the global GDP, is a significant forum for international economic cooperation. [caption id=“attachment_12780752” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The logo of the G20 Summit 2023, to be held in India, is displayed on the wall of the Red Fort, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] Furthermore, India is taking over the presidency at a crucial juncture when the world is facing multiple headwinds on account of the Russia-Ukraine war, increasing crude oil prices, rising interest rates and a slowdown in global demand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for international cooperation to deal with global issues, outlining the country’s approach to the G20. He said in a statement the challenges of “climate change, terrorism, and pandemics can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together.” Experts say India could also help the global economy, particularly those of poorer nations, bounce back from COVID-19. This is a moment for India to transition from being a “rule-taker to being a rule-maker”, said Rajiv Bhatia and Manjeet Kripalani of Indian think-tank Gateway House. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.