The J&K administration has constituted a committee to coordinate with the delegates of G-20 countries scheduled to participate in a meeting to be held in the Union Territory (UT) next year.
In response to a communication from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Principal Secretary to the J&K government, has accorded sanction to the “constitution of a committee for overall coordination of G-20 meetings to be held in the UT of J&K”.
In an order, the government has decided that the Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, will be the chairman of the five-member committee.
The details of the meetings and the countries likely to participate, however, have not been made public so far.
The participation of the delegates from G-20 countries will be a major boost to the efforts of the Centre to project the situation in J&K as normal, after J&K's special constitutional position was ended in 2019.
In the past, the Centre invited several ambassadors and delegates mainly from the European Union (EU) countries "to assess the situation in J&K" on three occasions. However, the Centre's move drew criticism for selective invitees and monitored tours of these delegations from the Western countries.
“The idea is to hold preparatory meetings of the G20 on a pan India basis, “ a senior official told The Hindu, adding that venues will be finalised based in accommodation and connectivity and other parameters, involving the State government’s in the consultative process.
