India will complete nearly 150 meetings by the end of July during its ongoing presidency of the G20, marking the participation of more than 15,000 delegates. With the meetings spread over 50 cities, geographically it became the largest event in any G20 presidency so far.
Government officials told News18 that the extent of India’s G20 presidency sets a tough task for countries taking over the presidency from India, like Brazil. “Also, the G20 meeting held successfully in Jammu and Kashmir sends out a strong message to the world,” a senior government official said.
The marquee event of India’s G20 presidency will be the Leaders Summit on September 9 and 10 in Delhi’s renovated and refurbished Pragati Maidan complex. India, by the end of its presidency, will have conducted over 216 G20 meetings in 60 cities across the length and breadth of the country. Close to 200 cultural events are planned as well.
Before India, the Indonesian G20 presidency had about 180 meetings scheduled in more than 20 cities. The Brazilian envoy to India earlier said his country is watching with great admiration what India is doing after taking the G20 presidency, and for setting high standards.
“Brazil will take over the presidency and, this is why, the country needs to be attentive to what India is doing,” the envoy said.
Experience so far
Writing in the latest G20 newsletter, India’s G20 chief coordinator Harsh Vardhan Singla said India had crossed the “halfway mark” by holding 120 meetings by May 31 and, in March, it hosted the largest ever gathering of foreign ministers.
“The ambitious goal of hosting more than 216 G20-related meetings in about 60 cities seemed a bit challenging when India initially took over the presidency on December 1, 2022. Today, India can say with some satisfaction as we look back over the last 6 months of the G20 presidency,” Singla wrote.
Singla also wrote that, in this journey, they are inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confident leadership and galvanised by his belief that a geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse country like India has much to offer.
“Our overarching aim has been to unite the world on issues of global importance with a human-centric approach, as PM Modi put it. The emphasis on oneness and unity has been the hallmark of India’s G20 presidency… We look forward to many more tangible outcomes that will deliver our promise of an action-oriented G20 presidency,” Singla wrote.
New initiatives
India initiated a new work stream for disaster risk reduction during its G20 presidency as well as a newly established engagement group on Startup20. India has also focused on being the voice of the Global South. Singla wrote that the G20 meeting on tourism in Srinagar will “undoubtedly spur a greater number of visitors to visit this important location, including tourists from all countries”.
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