In the historical city of Kolkata, the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) will assemble for its third and conclusive meeting under India's presidency. Over 154 delegates from G20 nations, along with representatives from 10 invitee countries and global organisations, will come together for the three-day conference from August 9 to 11, 2023.
Agendas of G20 ACWG Meeting
The meeting in Kolkata carries profound significance, as it will influence the trajectory of ACWG's mission. Delegates will engage in discussions about crucial subjects, including law enforcement cooperation, reinforcing asset recovery mechanisms and strengthening anti-corruption bodies. Corresponding with India's G20 presidency priorities, these talks sought to actualise commitments that originated from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Nine Point Agenda for Action Against Fugitive Economic Offences and Asset Recovery, introduced in 2018.
G20 Engagement Groups including Civil Society (C20), Women groups (W20), Think tanks (T20), Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI20) and Business Groups (B20) will also update the Working Group on work pertaining to anti-corruption issues in their areas. The meeting will also allow exchange of insights and best practices related to combating corruption across different sectors by G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations (IOs).
G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting
Subsequent to this pivotal ACWG session, all eyes will turn to the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting slated for August 12, 2023. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space of Government of India will chair this significant assembly. This will be the second ever Ministerial meeting of G20 ACWG and the first in-person ACWG Ministerial meeting. This Ministerial Meeting is a significant milestone in the journey of the group since its inception in 2010.
Achievements of G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group
Under India’s G20 presidency, ACWG has been able to achieve significant progress on anti-corruption cooperation regarding action against fugitive economic offenders and return of assets. The previous two meetings of ACWG were held in Gurugram and Rishikesh respectively. In those, India was able to forge a consensus in G20 to advance the international anti-corruption agenda. It did so by finalising three outcome documents (High Level Principles) on important and sensitive issues. Those are: High-Level Principles on Promoting Integrity and Effectiveness of Public Bodies and Authorities Responsible for Preventing and Combatting Corruption, High-Level Principles on Strengthening Asset Recovery Mechanisms for Combatting Corruption, and High-Level Principles on Strengthening Law Enforcement related International Cooperation and Information Sharing for Combatting Corruption.
All these action-oriented commitments at the highest-level will contribute towards prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of corruption offences, strengthening domestic anti-corruption institutional frameworks, extradition of fugitive economic offenders and recovery of assets of such offenders from foreign jurisdictions.
