HE, the Assistant Minister of Finance for Macro-Fiscal Policies and International Relations, the Saudi G20 Sherpa, Mr. Abdulaziz Alrasheed, participated in the 2nd Sherpa meeting under the Italian G20 Presidency. The meeting was held virtually on Monday and Tuesday, July 12-13, 2021, with participation of delegates from all the G20 countries, invited countries and international and regional organizations.
The meeting discussed the developments and progress made during the past months across all work streams of the Italian G20 presidency program, as a prelude to the negotiations of ministerial declarations and the Leaders' Communiqué which will be adopted by heads of states and governments at the Rome Summit that will be held on October 30th and 31st, 2021.
The meeting reflects a continuation of the Kingdom's leading efforts during its presidency in 2020, which were carried forward by Italy, the current president of G20.
The 1st Sherpa meeting, held on January 21-22, 2021, aimed to present the priorities of the Italian presidency, which are based on three main pillars: People, Planet, and Prosperity. This holistic concept was particularly valued by G20 Member countries, which shared the objectives of the current Italian G20 Presidency of ensuring a rapid response to the pandemic, and at the same time, an economic recovery focused on the needs of the people. Several topics were addressed during the previous meeting, most notably, the financial and economic sector, health, education, business, agriculture, development, energy and climate, environment, trade and investment, digital economy, combating corruption, culture and tourism.
It is noteworthy that the Kingdom has played a major role in supporting the efforts made within the G20, through its membership of G20 Troika Committee, a three-member committee headed by Italy (the current president of G20), the Kingdom (the former president), and Indonesia (the next president for 2022). Troika Committee aims to ensure that the G20 presidencies work together to achieve consistency and continuity of G20's agenda. The Kingdom is keen to support G20 efforts to achieve strong, balanced, sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
A "Sherpa" is a delegate who represents the country's leader in the preparations and negotiations that precede the convening of international summits, especially in the G20 and G7 summits and the conferences held with the participation of heads of state.