J&K to host G-20 summit events; Pak may object
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, 2022, and convene the G20 leaders’ summit in 2023 for the first time.
The G20 member nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal was in September last year appointed as 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.
Following receiving a communication from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), the J&K government has set up a five-member “high-level committee” for overall coordination for the proposed events. The members of the committee include the commissioner secretary (transport), administrative secretary
(tourism), administrative secretary (hospitality and protocol) and administrative secretary (culture).
“Further, principal secretary to the government, housing and urban development department is also nominated as UT level nodal officer to coordinate the arrangements for G-20 meetings in the Union Territory of J&K,” the order reads. The official sources said that the committee has been formed in response to a communication from the MEA sent on June 4.
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.
However, 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.