New Delhi: China will not be attending the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar, saying it “opposes” holding G20 meetings in “disputed territory”.
The upcoming third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting will be held in Srinagar from 22 May to 24 May under India’s presidency, four months ahead of the Leader’s Summit slated to take place in New Delhi.
“China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reportedly said in a press conference on Friday.
Wang’s remarks are being construed as as indicative of China’s close ties with Pakistan, which often rakes up the issue of Kashmir in various forums including the United Nations.
India shares frosty ties with China since 2020 after the clash between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA in Ladakh. In December 2022, troops of both countries clashed again at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. The face-off led to “minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides” and the two sides “immediately disengaged from the area”, according to government sources.
India holds the Presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. The previous two G20 Tourism Working Group meetings under India’s presidency took place in Siliguri and Darjeeling in April, and at Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch in February.
“Under India’s G20 Tourism Track, the Tourism Working Group is working on five inter-connected priority areas, which are Green Tourism; Digitalization; Skills ; MSMEs ; Destination These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieve the targets for 2030 SDGs,” the Press Information Bureau (PIB) describes as the aim of the Tourism Working Group meets.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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