Odisha To Host Three G20 Sub-Committee Meetings On Education, Culture & Energy

Bhubaneswar: Three G20 sub-committee meetings on education, energy and culture will be held in Odisha, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed on Saturday.

As the G20 presidency is set to be held in the country from December 1 this year to November 30, 2023, culminating with the main Summit at New Delhi, several states including Odisha are being roped in to organise the pre-summit meets.

Heritage town Konark and Bhubaneswar are likely to be among the venues for 200 such meetings to be held in the run-up to the main Summit.

In March, a team of officials from the Ministry of External Affairs’ logistics committee conducted a feasibility study in Konark and visited some star hotels in Bhubaneswar after holding a formal meeting with senior officials of the Home, Tourism and Urban Development departments.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a virtual meeting of governors, chief ministers and lieutenant governors to discuss issues related to India’s G-20 presidency. He said it is a unique opportunity for the country to showcase its strengths.

While in Delhi to attend the meeting, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had hinted that Konark could host a key G20 meeting. “I have heard that Konark may be on the agenda.”

Reports also suggested that Konark is among the proposed well-known monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites to host five key meetings, focusing on the “culture track”, during India’s G20 Presidency.

India officially assumed the G20 presidency on December 1.

G20 is an inter-governmental forum that addresses global economic issues such as financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development. It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.