Varanasi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UNCTAD and concurred on G20's important role in voicing concerns of Global South. The two also agreed to work closely to ensure the advancement of SDG goals.

Jaishankar met with Rebeca Grynspan and other global leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Development Ministers' meeting in Varanasi on Sunday.

G20 delegations have arrived in Varanasi and so Jaishankar is engaged in a raft of bilaterals.

"A good meeting with Secretary General of @UNCTAD, @RGrynspan on #G20DMM sidelines. Agreed that G20 plays an important role in alleviating concerns of Global South. Will also work closely to ensure the advancement of SDG goals," tweeted Jaishankar.

Jaishankar also met with Australian Development Minister, Pat Conroy. The two ministers held discussions on how Australia and India can collaborate on issues of development in the Pacific. Jaishankar and Conroy also spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Australia.

The EAM took to his Twitter to inform of his meeting with the Australian development minister.

"Glad to welcome Australian Development Minister @PatConroy1 in Varanasi for the #G20DMM. Naturally, we spoke about PM @narendramodi's recent visit to Australia. Also discussed how our two countries can cooperate on development issues in the Pacific," tweeted Jaishankar on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, G20 delegates from Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia and China on Sunday arrived at the Varanasi Airport.

Awadh's Faruwahi dance and Kashi Vishwanath Damru Vadan Samiti gave a grand welcome to the foreign guests at the airport. The foreign guests also performed Damru Vadan and Indian dance at the airport.

Among those who arrived were Australian politician Patrick Conroy, Brazil's Ambassador to India Mauricio Lyrio, European commissioner for International partnerships Jutta Urpilainen, German minister for economic cooperation and development Svenja Schulze, Japanese Minister Shunsuke Takei and China's Zhao Yifan among others.

Foreign guests were very happy to see the reception at the airport.

The G20 Development Ministers' Meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency is scheduled to be held between June 11-13 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will chair the meeting.

The meeting, to be held as part of India's G20 Presidency will also see a special video address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs statement said.

The Varanasi Development Ministers' Meeting takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

The G20 Development Ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries, the statement added.