Ahmedabad as Chair City for 6th Urban 20 (U20): Over 35 international participating cities

Gandhinagar: Gujarat is all set to host its third event in less than a month, the sixth U20 in India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City Ahmedabad. The sixth U20 invokes the solidarity of cities with the objective to deepen their collaboration amongst and collectively find common solutions that are in sync with the overall objectives of the G20. It highlights six priority areas that are critical for inspiring city-level actions to respond to global agendas. There are over 35 international participating cities this year among others.

At the arrival of the delegates on 8th February, special arrangements for a visit to the Adalaj Step Well have been made. This will be followed by a networking dinner where delegates will be welcomed by the Ahmedabad Sherpa Shri Praveen Chaudhary.

The Plenary Session, on 9th February 2023 will be attended by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel. There will be a virtual address by Minister, of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri. There will be a special address on ‘G20- Call for Action’ by India’s Sherpa to G20, Shri Amitabh Kant.

After the Plenary Session, there will be a discussion on Priorities, Advocacy, and Way Forward. There will be a special address on ‘India’s Urban Imperative’ by Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It will be followed by presentations of various working groups such as the Infrastructure Working Group, Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, and Digital Economy Working Group.

A session on U20 2023 Cycle: Context Setting is planned later where the delegates will witness presentations by Dr Sri Hayati, Jakarta Sherpa on ‘Looking back at Jakarta’, Ahmedabad Sherpa speaking on ‘U20 Ahmedabad Priorities and Expectations’ and the Conveners sharing on the ‘Sixth Cycle’s Milestones’.

A special address on ‘Urban Innovations in Gujarat and Way Forward’ by Shri Mukesh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Gujarat will commence post lunch. It will be followed by an address on ‘Urban planning and Environmental Sustainability’ by Mr. Keshav Verma, Chairperson, HLC of Urban planners, Urban economists and institutions and on ‘Climate Financing in Green Mobility’ H M Shivanand Swamy, Professor Emeritus, Centre of Excellence-Urban Transport (CoE-UT).

There is an excursion organized for the participating delegates to Sabarmati Ashram and Atal Bridge, Sabarmati Riverfront. This will be followed by a ‘Samvad over Dinner’, a gala cuisine comprising of pure vegetarian Gujarati and continental dishes, and a cultural programme, hosted by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel at the riverfront.

On 10th February 2023, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has made arrangements for the famous Ahmedabad Heritage Walk followed by a local breakfast at the House of M.G.

This will be followed by a session on the U20 2023 Cycle: Priorities and Communique and the U20 Advocacy: Convergence with other Engagement Groups. Shri Sanjiv Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, will address this event. It will also have an address on ‘Gujarat’s Connect with G20’ by Smt. Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary, Economic Affairs. The delegates will also see individual presentations by different engagement groups of G20- Youth20, Think20, and StartUp20 at the event. DeshGujarat