Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named Suresh Prabhu as his sherpa for the Group of 20 annual summit. Sherpa is a senior official responsible for preparing the agenda for leaders to consider during the summit.
According to government sources, Suresh Prabhu has a deep understanding of global issues including energy, climate change and infrastructure. He was a Cabinet minister in the previous NDA government.
Suresh Prabhu is expected to leave for Australia later this month for the G20 sherpas? meeting in Canberra on September 30-October 1. This will be the last G20 sherpas? meeting before the two-day G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane on November 15-16.
Government sources said Suresh Prabhu has already had an informal discussion with former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who served as then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?s sherpa. He is also holding separate meetings with senior government functionaries to get a complete lowdown on the G20 targets set over the last couple of years and the progress made so far.
Suresh Prabhu is currently the chairperson of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and a member of the Global Advisory Council of the World Economic Forum. The sherpas? meeting at Canberra follows the G20 Finance Ministers? meeting in Cairns last week, where India was represented by Minister of State (Finance) Nirmala Sitharaman. Just before the G20 Leaders? Summit on November 15-16, the G20 Finance Ministers will again meet for three days beginning November 13.