100 delegates in Leh for G20 meet
Jammu, April 26
Youth 20 (Y20) pre-summit under G20 kickstarted in Ladakh on Wednesday. As many as 100 delegates from 30 countries are participating in the event, scheduled to end on April 28. It is being seen as a strong message to Pakistan and China as Ladakh shares borders with both. Pakistan had recently raised objections over India’s plan to hold such meetings in the region. India and China are already tense over the border issue.
The Y20 meeting, which has been hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, witnessed the presence of 100 foreign delegates who took a tour to Leh town on Wednesday. The delegates also visited much famed Hemis and Thiksey Buddhist monasteries and took part in a yoga session.
Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Joint Secretary, G20, said the engagement was primarily to deliberate on the issues which concern the youth.
Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Services and Sports, will interact with the delegates on Thursday. The meeting will focus on the five themes — Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance, Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation and 21st Century Skills, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life, Peace Building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an era of No War and Health, Well being & Sports: Agenda for Youth.
Pankaj Kumar Singh, Director, Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, said these engagement groups are more about people-to-people participation. India will host a meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group in Srinagar in May.
