G20-Chief Science Advisers’ roundtable concludes

The second meeting of the G20-Chief Science Adviser’s Roundtable (G20-CSAR), held under the Sherpa Track of the Indian G20 Presidency, successfully concluded in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Monday. The summit culminated into mutual consensus for an Outcome Document and a Chair’s Summary by all G20 countries and invitee countries.G20-CSAR is an attempt towards synergizing global science advice mechanism in an inclusive and action-oriented manner to enable evidence-informed policymaking, as well as strengthening science advice at national and international levels.The G20-CSAR meeting witnessed proactive engagements from representatives belonging to G20 member countries, invitee countries, and two international organisations; namely WHO and UNESCO. The meeting was led by Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India Professor Ajay Kumar Sood who appreciated the commitment fostered by the G20 nations and invitee countries to deliberate on the ways to shape the G20-CSAR initiative as a sustained mechanism.
Addressing the G20-CSAR meeting, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood said, “This initiative is based on the core principles of creating an inclusive and robust global science advice mechanism that would collectively benefit everyone equitably and reflect our shared vision. It is heartening to note the overwhelming support from national and international stakeholders for this initiative.”
The key priorities areas that were discussed during the day-long deliberations were (a) leveraging opportunities in One Health, for better disease prevention, control, and pandemic preparedness; (b) synergizing global efforts to expand access to scholarly scientific knowledge;  (c) ensuring equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in Science and Technology Ecosystem, as well as known and unknown emerging priorities; (d) and creating an Inclusive, Continuous and Action-Oriented Global Science Advice Mechanism.
The inaugural G20-CSAR meeting was held from 28th-30th March, 2023 in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand. Since then, four intersessional meetings, six side events and several bilateral meetings have been organised to arrive at the agreement on the Outcome Document and Chair’s Summary.The baton was passed on to Brazil to take the G20-CSAR initiative forward.

(Ira Singh, Asstt Editor)