Chandigarh: The Union Territory of Chandigarh is all set to host the maiden G-20 summit meeting under India's Presidency. Chandigarh is going to host a two-day summit on international financial architecture at the G-20 summit scheduled for January 30 and 31. According to official, sources, the meeting will be held at Hotel Lalit with Chandigarh fully decked up for foreign delegates.
From the airport into the city and beyond, the entire Chandigarh is wearing a festive look. Flags of G-20 countries have been installed at important places in Chandigarh. According to sources, the Chandigarh administration and the municipal corporation have together spent about Rs 30 lakhs on the beautification and decoration of the city.
Chandigarh has been chosen to host two important meetings of G-20 out of about 50 cities in the city. Among them, there will be a meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group on January 30 and 31. Along with this, a second meeting has been scheduled in March regarding agricultural issues.
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In all, 170 delegates will reach the city for the G-20 meeting to be held in Chandigarh. Elaborate security and logistic arrangements have been made for their stay in five star hotels in the city, including Hotel Lalit, Hyatt and JW Marriott. The administration has hired 72 SUVs to pick up and drop the VIP guests. The administration was reportedly spending Rs 4 crore in providing amenities to guests.
The administration has also planned a programme to take foreign delegates to popular tourist spots in the city. Among them are Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, Rose and Capital Complex. The theme of this year's G-20 Summit is 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. Besides India, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, England, America and the European Union are included in the G-20 group.
The G-20 was formed in 1999 to deal with the global economic crisis. The G-20 is a group of developed and developing countries of the world that handle 80 per cent of the world's gross domestic product and 75 per cent of international trade. G-20 summit is held every year in a different country. The last summit was held in Indonesia.
Besides Chandigarh the G-20 groups will be held in other cities Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Indore, Jodhpur, Khajuraho, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Rann of Kutch, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram and Udaipur. Along with the routine agenda at the meetings, the foreign delegates will also get the first hand experience of India's cultural heritage and traditions.
Apart from G-20 countries, India has also invited guests from Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE. Along with this, UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB, OECD, AU Chair, NEPAD Chair, ASEAN Chair, ADB, ISA and CDRI have also been invited. G20 priorities include green growth, climate finance and lifestyles for the environment, technological change and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions and women-led development.
