China, Turkey Likely To Give A Miss To G20 Meet In Kashmir

China and Turkey will reportedly give a miss to the upcoming G20 tourism working group meeting in Kashmir. The event is scheduled to be held between May 22 and 25 at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake.

In addition to it, several countries will have a low-key participation as they plan to send officials from their embassies in New Delhi rather than diplomats from their capitals, Hindustan Times reported citing matter in the know.This is first international event to be held in Kashmir since the BJP scrapped Article 370 in 2019.

The report claims that China is not attending the event as its ally Pakistan has raised objection to India conducting the event in Kashmir. It skipped G20 meeting held in China in March. Whereas Turkey had criticised India for doing away with the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

UN's special rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes had recently criticised India over G20 meet in Srinagar. "G20 should on the contrary uphold 'International human rights obligations & the #UN Declaration of Human Rights should be upheld... and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be decried and condemned, not pushed under the rug and ignored with the holding of this meeting'," he added.

As a result, several other countries have decided to have a low-key represenation.

"Saudi Arabia and Mexico are likely to be represented by diplomats from their embassies in New Delhi instead of officials from their respective capitals," Deccan Herald quoted sources as saying.

As Kashmir is integral part of the country, India is within its rights to choose the venue for the G20 event. By conducting the event in Srinagar, it is trying to showcase the positive development that the region has witnessed since the abrogation of the Article 370.

The event has the potential to put Kashmir on the global map which can boost the tourism and economy. "We have refurbished the conference centre to international standards and an eco-friendly environment has been created for the delegates. Everything is being done to make this event sucessful and to showcase the culture, tourism and art of Jammu and Kashmir," Hindusan Times quoted a senior official as saying.