NEW DELHI: The spotlight will be on India for a major part of 2023, especially during the over 200 meetings that have been slated to be held under India’s G20 Presidency. January will be a busy date as working group meetings would be held across ten different locations and in addition, there would be one virtual meeting.
"The events will be held across different parts of the country under different segments. Kolkata will host the first meeting on global partnership for financial inclusion between the 9th and 11th. A working group meeting will be held on health in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai will host a meeting on education, while Guwahati will host the first sustainable financial meeting and Chandigarh will host the first financial architecture meeting," said sources.
Identifying the venue, and ensuring the safety and comfort of all the delegations was a long and arduous process.
The G20 events in India are being held in a centralised way, unlike what was being done in Indonesia, where each event was handled by a different set of departments/officials.
"We have ensured that the delegates are comfortable, whilst they visit different places in India. All venues were inspected before they got the go-ahead for hosting these events. Adequate arrangements have been made for their security and comfort too. We would hope that they take back memories of India which they share back home," said sources.
During the month of January, a virtual meeting will be held on the 17th and 18th on the digital economy. This is likely to attract more participants.
The ten physical meetings that have been slated for January will be held in Kolkata, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Chennai.
"Visitors will be able to savour local delicacies through specialised chefs and artisans will also display their ware. The venues where these delegates will be hosted will be blocked for only the G20 to ensure privacy," sources added.