SRINAGAR: The government has chosen scenic Jammu and Kashmir as the venue for hosting some of the events during the G20 leaders’ summit in 2023. India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1 this year and convene the G20 leaders’ summit in 2023 for the first time.
India has been a member of G20, an influential grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s leading economies, and the European Union, with its members accounting for more than 80 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the global population.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been leading the country’s representation at G20 since 2014.
This will be the first major international summit event to be held in J&K after the Narendra Modi government scripted a “historical change” in the status of the erstwhile state.
Kashmir watchers say that India by holding the 2023 G20-related events in J&K wants to send a message to the outside world that the UT is transforming for a better tomorrow and showcase the situation on the ground has changed in the past three years and there is an atmosphere of peace in general now.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal was in September last year appointed India’s Sherpa for the G20. India is part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G20 presidencies) from December 1, 2021, and will continue to hold this position till November 30, 2024.
After receiving a communication from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) about the G20 events, the J&K government has set up a five-member “high-level committee” for overall coordination for the proposed events.
The sources said that J&K will host some of the meetings and events during the presidency beginning on December 1, 2022. The modalities for these events and meetings would be worked out by the MEA.
Pakistan in all probability will object to holding of such international summit events in J&K on the premise that it is a disputed territory. The neighbouring country’s former high commission to India Abdul Basit on Friday gave an indication of Islamabad’s conceivable opposition when he in his kaleidoscope show on Youtube said that Islamabad must impress upon, at least, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia which are also members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to stay away from the G20 events held in J&K.
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