Jammu And Kashmir to Host G-20 Summit Next Year, High-Level Committee Formed

Jammu and Kashmir is set to host the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders’ summit in 2023 as India will assume the presidency of the group from Indonesia later this year. A five-person high level committee for its overall coordination was formed by the Union Territory government on Thursday, 23 June.

The committee was established in response to a notification from the Ministry of External Affairs on 4 June. The Union Territory's housing and urban development department's chief secretary will preside over it, as per an official directive issued on Thursday.

Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, was chosen to represent India at the G20 in September last year. India will assume the G20 chair on 1 December 2022, and will host the first meeting in 2023, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

This will be the first significant international summit to be hosted in Jammu and Kashmir, after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

"Sanction is hereby accorded to the constitution of a committee for overall co-ordination of G-20 meetings to be held in the Union Territory of J&K," the directive from Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, principal secretary of the general administration department, stated.

Administrative secretaries from four different departments have been named as committee members. They include Commissioner Secretary of Transport, Administrative Secretary of Tourism, Administrative Secretary of Hospitality and Protocol and Administrative Secretary of Culture.

Further, the principal secretary to the housing and urban development department has also been nominated as the UT level nodal officer to coordinate the arrangements.

The Group of Twenty

The Group of G20 (G20) comprises 19 countries along with the European Union. Its members account for more than 80 percent of the world's GDP, 75 percent of its commerce, and 60 percent of its population. India has been a member of the group since its inception in 1999.

According to the MEA, India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, culminating with the Summit in India in 2023.

(With inputs from PTI)