G-20: altitude climbing

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for its members' international economic cooperation and decision-making. Its membership comprises 19 countries plus the European Union.

Who is a Sherpa
A Sherpa is the official personal emissary or representative of the head of state in any international forum, like G-8 or G-20. Chosen personally by the head of state, and in India's case by the prime minister, India's G-20 Sherpa has the responsibility of laying the groundwork ahead of the prime minister's attendance in what is now the most definitive grouping of global powers.

A Sherpa is a member of a Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet, renowned for their skill in mountaineering. In the context of global summits, the name was first used by Europeans for the representatives of their heads of states for G-8 summits.

The Sherpa's main responsibilities
In the context of G-20, between the summits, there are multiple Sherpa conferences, where possible agreements are laid out. This reduces the amount of time and resources required at the negotiations of the heads of state at the final summit. Essentially, a Sherpa's job is to get all the negotiations done, before the prime minister signs any agreement, declaration, or charter.

There are also meetings of Sherpas that focus on five non-financial issues: Employment, trade, anti-corruption, development, and energy sustainability. Sherpas delegate policy and technical analysis to working groups drawn from officials from each member-country and international organisation, and also ease dialogue with a range of stakeholder groups, including business groups and academic institutions.

Trivia
The Sherpa is usually accompanied by the economic affairs secretary. Additionally, there are Sous-Sherpas (under-Sherpas), a joint secretary from the economic affairs department and the external affairs ministry each.


Who is India's G-20 Sherpa
NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya has been confirmed as the next G-20 Sherpa of prime minister Narendra Modi. He is preceded by railways minister Suresh Prabhu, who was appointed by Modi even before he took the cabinet portfolio. Senior officials say that someone like Panagariya would be more suited to the role, just like now-shut Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was Manmohan Singh's Sherpa. Sources say as the railways minister, Prabhu could not have given much attention to his additional responsibility.