G20 Establishes Expert Group to Bolster Multilateral Development Banks for SDG and Transboundary Challenges

The G20 is a forum of 19 countries and the European Union that come together to discuss and coordinate on global economic and financial issues. Under India’s G20 Presidency, an expert group has been established to strengthen multilateral development banks (MDBs), which are institutions that provide financing to countries for development projects.

The expert group has been tasked with developing a roadmap for an updated MDB ecosystem for the 21st century. This roadmap will include milestones and timelines that touch upon all aspects of MDB evolution, such as vision, incentive structure, operational approaches, and financial capacity. The objective is to equip MDBs better to finance a wide range of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and transboundary challenges such as climate change and health.

In addition to developing the roadmap, the expert group will evaluate various estimates regarding the scale of funding required by and from MDBs to address their and member countries’ increased financing needs for SDGs and transboundary challenges. The group will take into account the additional capacity that can be derived from the CAF recommendations alongside other important sources such as the private sector and public sector funds.

Finally, the expert group will work to create mechanisms for coordination among MDBs. This will enable MDBs to address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively. The group includes high-profile experts from various sectors such as academia, government, and finance.

The expert group will submit its report to the Indian Presidency of the G20 before June 30, 2023. The report will outline the roadmap and recommendations for strengthening MDBs and making them better equipped to tackle global development challenges.