The first meeting of the sherpas under the Indian G20 Presidency ended successfully in Udaipur, Rajasthan, on December 7 under the chairmanship of Indian Sherpa Amitabh Kant.
The meeting was attended by representatives (Sherpas) of all G20 nations, nine invited countries and 14 international organizations. Russia was represented by Svetlana Lukash who expressed her support to the Indian presidency for highlighting "women-led development" as one of the G20's key priorities.
“I think we really need to praise the initiative by Prime Minister Modi and India’s presidency [in G20] for putting the issue of women's empowerment as a top priority. So, for the first time, the development agenda will be seen by G20 not only how to benefit women or other vulnerable groups, but also how women should lead the positive transformative actions and processes for the benefit of the world," Lukash told Sputnik.
The Russian Sherpa noted that the issue of female empowerment has been on the G20 agenda for quite a long time, recalling the launch of the Women-20 engagement group which, as Lukash mentioned, "supports the agenda on gender equality and women’s role in economics."
Lukash also added that the reason for promoting women's empowerment is very clear - "women's potential can contribute to the development of the economy, accelerate growth and reduce inequalities in the economy and society".
"Women are really catalyzers of positive developments, as it’s put traditionally and it is in women’s blood. Since childhood they care about the home and so they care about societies and can only develop positive trends in economic and cultural, societal life of our countries,” Lukash added.
The first official sherpa meeting in Udaipur kicked off on December 4 with a formal coming-together of dignitaries from 40 countries under the motto "''The Guest is a form of God."
The gathering addressed the agenda for the G20 leaders' summit next September and included themes from 13 working groups.