Livemint | Urban 20 has to be seen as a great opportunity for global peer learning: Puri

Feb 10,2023

Housing and urban affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said Urban 20, an engagement group under the G20, has to be seen as a great opportunity for global peer learning, and added that cities need to rethink traditional planning models to deliver desired socio-economic outcomes.

Urban 20 or U20 brings together city sherpas, mayors and representatives from cities in G20 countries, to collectively deliberate key urban challenges and inform the G20 negotiations.

“Comprehensive infrastructure development will necessitate a robust discussion on investments and financing...Steered by India and ‘Chair city’ Ahmedabad, I am convinced that this year’s Urban 20 Engagement Group will demonstrate that policies and practices adopted by cities indeed have powerful implications on global agendas of development," said Puri in his audio-visual message at the inaugural City Sherpa Meeting of the 2023 Urban 20 Engagement Group of the G20.

Puri expressed hope that this Urban 20 group can be the forum where innovative financial instruments are conceptualized even as concrete steps are taken to accelerate climate finance.

The minister said that collective experiences of various participants and the lessons learnt during the deliberations in this inaugural meeting will help build a bold, visionary roadmap that can be shared with the G20 leaders.

Outlining the relevance of this year’s U20 summit, he said that resonating with the theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future’, this year’s summit will be the crucible from which a framework for mutually beneficial and sustainable international economic cooperation will emerge.

Highlighting the importance of harnessing of economic potential of cities in a sustainable manner, Puri said that the recently concluded COP-27 on climate change and COP-15 on biodiversity have reiterated the urgent need to enhance urban resilience so that cities are equipped to deal with global stresses and shocks.

The minister stressed that ensuring water security through better planning, policies and governance, is critical in context of rapid urbanization. “I am certain that this will be an area where considerable knowledge will be produced and shared in this year’s summit," he said.

The event which is being held in Ahmedabad on 9-10 February, 2023, is being attended by over 70 delegates from close to 40 cities and more than 200 participants from participant an observer cities, U20 Conveners, representatives from various working groups and engagement groups of the G20, senior officials from government, national and international organizations and other invited guests.