Holding the G20 summit in Jammu & Kashmir would be an adventurous and ambitious step as well as an opportunity to recognise Jammu & Kashmir at the highest level, according to a report in Jammu & Kashmir Policy Institute.
The Srinagar-based independent, think-tank said that despite resistance from Pakistan and China, India announced Srinagar as the venue for the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting scheduled to take place from May 22 to 24.
It’s for the first time in the past 70 years that Jammu & Kashmir will be hosting an international event like G-20, and the occasion offers Jammu & Kashmir a chance to rise to the occasion of exhibiting its market prospects, ecotourism ventures, and cultural assets to the leading global nations, the report stated.
The G-20 symposium or associated discussion groups in Srinagar would represent the most formal geopolitical devastating blow for Pakistan, which has calcified its stance on Jammu & Kashmir following the repeal of Articles 370 and 35-A and the division of the former state into two separate Union Territories in 2019.
“G20 meetings are being organised in entire India, in all cities and parts of India. It is therefore natural to hold the meetings in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh because these are inalienable parts of India,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during the MEA weekly media briefing.
India has issued a significant strategic assertion to the international society, primarily to Beijing and Islamabad by strategising to organise a few G20 summits in Jammu & Kashmir.
The G20 offers a chance for the administration to solidify the benefits it claims resulted from repealing Article 370, reported Jammu & Kashmir Policy Institute.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha declared that the summit in Jammu & Kashmir would convey a message of tranquillity and civility to the rest of the world.
“If there is no peace, then rest assured no power on earth can bring development to the place. Some people do not like this. They do not want peace here, they want violence. Jammu & Kashmir’s welfare is in this, we can progress and come closer to or overcome other nations only when there is peace here,” said Manoj Sinha.
However, the Pakistani Government just not objected to New Delhi’s course of action but also allegedly asked its allied countries – China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia – to blacklist and stop showing support for the conference. China echoed Pakistan’s reason to object, saying it repudiates India’s intention to host the G20 leader’s meeting in the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, reported Jammu & Kashmir Policy Institute.
But, by sponsoring the meeting in Jammu & Kashmir, New Delhi has asserted its claim to the Indian Himalayas stating India would have no tolerance towards forced occupation.
Moreover, as Pakistan is not a member of the G20, it’s going to be challenging for Islamabad to persuade numerous different advanced nations to abandon the idea of holding the summit, reported JK Policy Institute.
Numerous corporate leaders, expats, businessmen, and diplomats, from Middle Eastern countries, have indeed toured Jammu & Kashmir in the past few months to investigate opportunities to invest in the UT, much more to Pakistan’s chagrin.
There had been a large amount of attention in Jammu & Kashmir during last year’s regional and global summit throughout the Emirates. Motivated by multinational economic interests in investing in Jammu & Kashmir, India anticipated hosting the G20 summit in the UT this year.
It gives rise to an experimental method of willingness to host the symposium: involving locals. Representatives could be chosen from the corporate sector, the political sphere, scholars, and the community. This strategy will guarantee the summit’s accomplishment, reported Jammu & Kashmir Policy Institute.
Also, the large tourist influx must have stimulated the Indian government to choose Jammu & Kashmir. The G20 Summit has the possibility of having a major effect on the world and thus on the Jammu & Kashmir economy. Actions taken at the symposium, for example, can influence market mechanisms, the balance of trade, and fiscal measures, each of which has a long-lasting effect.
Furthermore, the G20 Summit can be an opportunity for Western democracies to collaborate in addressing global financial dilemmas, which will eventually improve Jammu & Kashmir’s status.
Also, among the 15 institutions in the country chosen to host Youth-20 and Civil -20 events which are being organised in connection with India’s G-20 Presidency, the University of Kashmir (KU) is one of them, reported Jammu & Kashmir Policy Institute.
Global support has grown, and with the G20 summit, Kashmir will have a bigger presence on the world platform, and it will be able to empower and shape significant international economic and commercial decisions.
(with inputs from ANI)
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