Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday urged G20 member nations to ensure expeditious and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to aid global recovery.
Ms Sitharaman was addressing the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting being held virtually.
The Finance Minister stated that it is crucial to address the gaps in global pandemic preparedness and said that the work of the G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force should progress in these directions.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures, which will be responsible for the implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India's forthcoming G20 Presidency.
Ms Sitharaman shared insights on India's policy response and suggested that recovery measures have to be built around a long-term vision. She emphasized addressing structural bottlenecks to reduce the pandemic's scarring effects and build resilience.
India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, culminating with the G20 Summit in India in 2023. G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation that plays an important role in global economic governance.
As per practice, a G20 Secretariat is being established to handle work relating to substantive, knowledge, content, technical, media, security and logistical aspects of India's G20 Presidency. It will be manned by officers and staff from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and other relevant line Ministries, Departments and domain knowledge experts. The Secretariat will be functional till February 2024.
