Coffee diplomacy at G20: Karnataka begins planning for mega track in 2023

Just as the G20 meeting of finance and central bank deputies (FCBD) from the world’s largest economies wrapped up on the outskirts of Bengaluru, planning has begun for a mega track in 2023. Late February, the first meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, under India’s G20 presidency, will be held at the same venue—a sprawling resort some distance away from Bengaluru.  

The line-up will include the likes of Janet Yellen (US treasury secretary), Jerome Powell (Federal Reserve chairman), Christine Lagarde (European Central Bank president), Jeremy Hunt (UK chancellor) among others. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will play host.

If the host state — Karnataka — rolled out the proverbial red carpet for delegates at the recently concluded three-day G-20 event, best of the state’s cultural heritage is expected to be showcased in February. Including the state’s own coffee.

On the venue being quite far from the Bengaluru city, an official explained that it was the most appropriate from the point of view of security and logistics, and to avoid traffic of the main city.  

With large mock-ups of some of Karnataka’s historical landmarks besides a life-size model of an elephant decked in full Mysore Dussehra regalia, the event represented the cultural objectives of G-20 under India’s presidency. Stalls for local artisans, small businesses and start-ups showcasing traditional handicraft, handloom and local organic produce like millet varieties and spices completed the picture.

All this will be on show in February as well. In addition, organisers from finance and external affairs ministries are planning excursions to cultural and tourism hotspots. Hampi is one example. But the itinerary is still getting finetuned, sources said.

This time around, what the delegates from North American, European and Latin American countries — all coffee drinking nations – really liked, was the Indian coffee, according to people close to the event. Karnataka accounts for more than 70 per cent of Indian coffee production. To drive home that point, stalls were put up by the local coffee board and coffee start-ups.

“There were sessions on coffee-making and pressing by the start-ups. Our coffee was really appreciated,” an official said. The food on offer for delegates over December 13-15 was also a celebration of Karnataka cuisine.

On the last day of the meeting, the delegates were taken to Indian Institute of Science, where they interacted with start-ups and entrepreneurs in the fields of tech, artificial intelligence and robotics etc.

It was not all fun and games though. These publicized meetings of FCBD and finance ministers and central bank governors are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the work being done in G-20. The detailed, long, slow negotiations on various finance track agenda items, the nuts and bolts work, is done in working groups and task force meeting.

Already the framework working group, being co-chaired by India (Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran) and United Kingdom, is underway in Bengaluru and discussing global macro-economic risks and uncertainties. Just in December, there will be task force and working group meetings on topics such as infrastructure financing, health, financial inclusion, global financial architecture, in Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh and other such places.

Such meetings will be held throughout the year in various venues. The deliberations in these meetings will lead to declarations, joint statements and agreements which G-20 leaders will sign later.

The finance track of the powerful G-20 grouping is older than the Sherpa track. There are five working groups in the finance track that deal with issues like infrastructure, climate and sustainable infrastructure financing, global taxation, debt levels and sustainability, especially in low income nations, multilateral institutions, cross-border financial crimes, and regulation of cryptocurrency and other digital assets.