CHINA BURSTS THE INDIAN BALLOON OF G20 CONFERENCE IN SRINAGAR

BEIJING : Monitoring Desk – China will not attend the upcoming G20 meeting in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Chinese foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday. Earlier The Hindu reported that Indian government announced that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have yet to confirm their attendance, indicating they too are likely to skip the meeting. 

“China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings in disputed territories, and will not attend such meetings, he said during his regular briefing held at International Press Center (IPC).

India has a plan to host the G20 summit meeting on tourism from May 22 to May 24 at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Center in Srinagar, Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“A total of 60 international delegates have registered so far for the Third working group meeting to be held from May 22-24,” Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said on May 19, briefing the media in Delhi. “A total of 17 G-20 member countries have confirmed their participation till now. Those who have still not registered are China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The number of invited countries is 9 out of which only Egypt has not registered so far, Mr. Singh added.

The Hindu reported that none of the Embassies in Delhi of the non-participating countries replied to requests for comments about whether their non-registration thus far indicated a “boycott” for political reasons. While China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are G-20 members, Egypt is a special invitee this year, and their decision not to attend what the government is promoting as the “first international event” in Jammu Kashmir since the reorganisation of the former State and amendment of Article 370 in August 2019, appear to have diplomatic undertones.

China had earlier skipped G-20 meetings in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, which it considers “disputed territory” and its decision not to send a delegation to Srinagar is understood to be in line with that. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are all members of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), that had been very critical of India’s changes in Jammu and Kashmir. However, other OIC members like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Oman, and UAE have confirmed their participation in the event, the Tourism secretary confirmed. While Indonesia is a key “Troika” member, along with India and Brazil, it is sending a single diplomat from the Embassy in Delhi, sources said.

The MEA did not respond on Friday to requests for a comment on the non-participation by key G-20 members as well as an invitee. On Tuesday, India’s mission in Geneva had strongly rejected a statement by UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes, who had criticised the event being held in Srinagar as an effort to “normalise” alleged human rights violations and the “denial of democratic and other rights” that he said were “ongoing”.

“As G-20 President, it’s India’s prerogative to host its meetings in any part of the country,” the Indian mission replied, adding that it was “aghast” at the Special Rapporteur’s “misuse of his position” and attempt to “politicise the issue”

In Srinagar, officials said preparations for the high-profile event are nearly complete, with all roads leading from Srinagar airport to the Sher I Kashmir Convention Centre that will be the venue of the conference, freshly painted in bright colours. The delegates will be driven into the city under elaborate multi-tier security arrangements and will stay at a number of high-end hotels along the Dal Lake, the official said, adding that police personnel on duty have been asked “to extend proper protocol to the delegates from different nationalities.”

The Tourism Ministry is also organising events dedicated to encourage “film tourism” amongst international and domestic crews. Industry stakeholders will also provide suggestions on encouraging filmmakers to shoot in various locations across the country, the officials said and the government would unveil a draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ at the meeting. In a bid to promote local products, souvenirs given to delegates would include papier mache Boxes, saffron from Pampore, kawa cups and brass spoon and walnuts from Anantnag, Shopian and Kupwara. Mr. Singh said that an earlier plan to take delegates to Gulmarg during the three-day meeting was shelved due to a large increase in the number of delegates.