SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is all set to host the G-20 Summit in 2023. This will be the first major international summit to be held in picturesque J&K ever and holds additional significance as it will be taking place over three-and-a-half years after the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs) by the Centre on August 5, 2019.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India would hold the G-20 presidency from December 1, 2022 and would convene the first ever summit of the influential grouping in the country in 2023.
Following a communication from the MEA on June 4, the Lt-Governor administration in J&K has formed a five-member committee for the overall coordination of G-20 meetings to be held in the Union Territory.
The five-member committee will be lead by Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, while Commissioner Secretary (Transport), Administrative Secretary (Tourism), Administrative Secretary (Hospitality and Protocol) and Administrative Secretary (Culture) will be its members.
The Housing and Urban Development Secretary has also been nominated as the UT-level nodal officer to coordinate the arrangements for G-20 meetings, reads the order issued by Principal Secretary to Government, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.
BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said the scheduled G-20 summit in Kashmir next year was the outcome of Prime Minister Narendera Modi’s brave decision of Article 370 rollback and J&K’s integration with the country. “Kashmir will get a huge economic push through the G-20 summit. This is a peace dividend,” he said.
G-20 brings together 19 of the world’s leading economies and the European Union and its members account for over 80 per cent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade and 60 percent of the global population.
The G-20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US, and the European Union.India will be part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G-20 presidencies) from December 1, 2021 till November 30, 2024. The summit will also give a boost to tourism and attract visitors from across the globe to the picturesque Valley.
Urban development secy to head the committee
The Lt-Governor administration has formed a five member committee for the overall coordination of G-20 meetings to be held in the Union Territory. The committee will be headed lead by Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department.