Ahmedabad held the "Urban 20" (U20) inception meeting in early February, keeping with India's G20 theme of "One Planet, One Family, One Future." The plenary sessions were attended by hundred delegates, who represented more than forty cities around the world, as well as thirty partner organizations and institutions.
Top-level delegations from various countries attended the three-day meeting. Dilip Chauhan, who hails from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, represented New York's most important metropolis at the U20 meet. He is the first Indian-American to be selected as Deputy Commissioner in the Honorable Mayor Eric Adams administration's commission on international affairs, foreign direct investment, and innovation in New York City.
Ahmedabad, the sixth U20's host city, called on cities to unite in order to strengthen their mutual cooperation and jointly come up with solutions that are consistent with the G20's overarching goals.
The goal of the sixth U20 was to reduce the gaps between policy and practice at all levels of governance in order to move from intention to action and to produce a roadmap for a global shift that will be driven by cities. It emphasized how local decisions can have a lasting positive impact on the world, underscoring how interconnected everything is and how our shared future depends on it.
U20 identified six topics as priorities that are essential for motivating local government responses to global objectives. They include promoting "local" identity, reinventing frameworks for urban governance and planning, ensuring water security, accelerating climate finance, encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour, and catalysing digital urban futures.
The U20 engagement summit demonstrated its significance in achieving the motto "Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhai" (welfare and prosperity of all sections of society), which is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Modi of "One Earth, One Family, One Future".
