The government has appointed Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile Piyush Goyal as Sherpa for the G20, replacing former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The development comes a little over a month before the next summit scheduled at the end of October in Rome. While Italy holds the presidency of the G20 formation, India will be holding the presidency from December 1, 2022 and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023.

“India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999. G20 is a major international grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s major economies and the European Union, with its members accounting for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of trade and 60% of population,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“India will be part of the G20 Troika [preceding, current and incoming Presidencies] from December 1, 2021 till November 30, 2024,” the Ministry said.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads India’s participation, the Sherpa is entrusted with steering negotiations with partner countries on policy issues on an ongoing basis while the leaders meet.

The summit usually includes leaders from a few guest countries and representatives from some of the major international and regional organisations. Ministers of Economy and Finance are traditionally invited to attend the event.

Apart from India, the G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S. and the European Union. Spain is invited as a permanent guest.