Around 60 delegates from G20 member countries are participating in the meeting.
Srinagar:
Amid tight security, Jammu and Kashmir will host the third meeting of the Tourism Working Group of G20 countries in capital Srinagar from today. This is the first such international event in the region after the Center revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and stripped it of its statehood in August 2019.
Parts of Srinagar city and roads leading to the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Center or SKICC, which is the venue of the G20 meeting, have been decked up.
G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shinga said that India is halfway through its G20 chairmanship and so far 118 meetings have been held across the country.
He said that the Srinagar meeting had the highest number of participants as compared to the earlier two meetings on tourism.
Around 60 delegates from G20 member countries are participating in the meeting. Officials say most of the delegates for the Srinagar event are coming from Singapore.
Representatives of special invitee countries are also participating in the meeting.
China has opposed holding the G20 meeting in Kashmir, while Saudi Arabia has not registered for the event. Turkey seems to have decided to stay away from the Srinagar meeting.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday, “China firmly opposes holding G20 meetings in any form in disputed areas and will not attend such meetings.”
India countered the objection by saying that it was free to hold meetings within its territory. It said that peace and tranquility on its border is necessary for normal relations with China.
This was the first such strong statement from China at the G20 event in Srinagar.
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made in Srinagar ahead of the meeting. Marine commandos and National Security Guards have been deployed as part of the ground-to-air security cover.
Anti-drone units have been activated and National Security Guards have been deployed at sensitive places and installations.
Thousands of personnel from the Army, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Jammu and Kashmir Police are part of the security grid amid reports that terrorists are trying to disrupt the G20 event. Can in Kashmir.
Police has issued a traffic advisory and no traffic will be allowed on Boulevard Road in Srinagar. There is also a restriction on the movement of traffic on the route used by the G20 delegates.
Special passes have been issued to the shopkeepers of Lal Chowk area so that they can open their shops without any hassle.
Ahead of the meeting, parts of Srinagar city and the road from Srinagar airport to SKICC were extensively redesigned.
Footpaths and roads get a facelift under the Srinagar Smart City project. While the Jhelum Riverfront was renovated by laying concrete footpaths, Poloview Bazaar, Srinagar’s best shopping destination, was given a spectacular facelift. The four lane road link of the market has been closed. It has now been laid over with tiles and has become a pedestrian-only market.
As part of the sightseeing programme, the G20 delegates are also expected to visit the Poloview market, which has become the postcard of Srinagar’s Smart City project.
Officials say the G20 meeting will boost tourism in Kashmir, which is already attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Saturday that the success of the upcoming meeting of the Tourism Working Group of G-20 countries would increase tourist inflow and investment in Jammu and Kashmir.