First Infrastructure Working Group meeting under G20 Presidency

This week we attended the G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting in Pune, India. This was the first meeting of the IWG under the Indian G20 Presidency.

The two-day meeting was attended by 64 delegates from 18 member countries, eight guest countries, and eight international organisations – including the GI Hub. It was focused on one of the flagship themes of the Indian G20 Presidency, the ‘Cities of Tomorrow’. Delegates discussed principles for building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities (including the QII principles) and delved deep into strategies for financing infrastructure for the cities of tomorrow.

Infrastructure investment was also an important topic. The group discussed infrastructure spending and how to make data on public infrastructure spending accurate and available to the private sector to help mobilise private investment in infrastructure. The GI Hub presented the latest progress on the new InfraTracker that will track public infrastructure spending, which is a deliverable for the G20 Presidency this year.

The workplan, priorities, and deliverables of the Presidency have all been broadly supported by the membership. Across the two days, the IWG touched on all the core enablers of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient infrastructure and highlighted ideas and actions for increasing investment to meet critical infrastructure needs. Work on these topics will continue throughout the year by the GI Hub and others. The next meeting of the IWG will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 28-29 March 2023.

We extend our congratulations to the Indian G20 Presidency and the IWG for an insightful and productive meeting, and our warm thanks for the wonderful hospitality and the opportunity to experience Indian culture and traditions in Pune.