Y-20 Pre-Summit Under G20 Begins In Ladakh With 100 Delegates From 30 Countries

The Y-20 pre-summit meeting under G20 hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs will begin on Wednesday and more than 100 delegates would attend the meeting from April 26 to April 28, the Ladakh UT official spokesman says. 

It will bring together leading experts, decision-makers, and youth leaders from G20 Countries to discuss and formulate actionable plans for the growth and development of the people.

The focus will be on the five Y20 themes of Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance; Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation & 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, Wellbeing and Sports: Agenda for Youth.

The Y20 pre-summit will be attended by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur and the Lieutenant Governor of Leh-Ladakh Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd). The summit will also have parallel deliberations and negotiation sessions on each of the Y-20 themes.

Pakistan-China objections

Early this month, India dismissed Pakistan's objection to the hosting of a G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and saying these conferences are being organised across the country and it is “natural” to arrange such events in the union territories that are an “integral and inalienable” part of the country.

China had also voiced its opposition to the government of India’s plans to hold G-20 leaders meeting in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the relevant sides should avoid "unilateral moves" that may "complicate" the situation.

“The meetings and events of G20 are being held across India. They are being organised in every region of India and it is very natural to have these meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a media briefing early this month while responding to a question on the stand taken by Pakistan.

Ladakh is all set to host

Briefing the media in Leh, Joint Secretary, G20 Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, says it is a tremendous opportunity for India to have a pre-summit meeting to be hosted in Leh where more than 100 delegates from more than 30 countries are participating.

This year G20 is being organised under India’s presidency on the theme “One Earth One Family One Future”.

“Youth of today are very concerned about their future. There is a heavy emphasis on climate change. Also, there is a lot of focus on health and sports. The youth is participating from all over the world and they have the opportunity to experience Leh and its beautiful culture,” he says.

Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, Pankaj Kumar Singh says these engagement groups are more about people-to-people participation. “It gives a platform where we invite young leaders who are interested in different thematic areas. This pre-summit is part of the engagement process this year under India’s presidency.”

He says the summit will provide a platform for open discussions, presentations and interactive sessions that will focus on addressing the challenges faced by young people and formulating a roadmap for their development.

 “We have partnered with 14 universities of this country where we have held negotiations where international students and speakers have participated. To extend the reach of Y20 events, the Y20 secretariat has organised Jan Bhagidari events,” Singh says.

Saugat Biswas, Divisional Commissioner, Ladakh says the Leh administration has provided all support to make the engagement meeting a grand success. He says the education department has organised several events, quiz competitions, and discussions to engage youth on themes of climate change and sustainability and a lot of jan bhagidari activities have been organised in schools, and colleges to engage youth.

He says delegates have been provided electric buses. 

Falit Sijariya, representative of Y20 India Secretariat says, Y20 has tried to communicate and collaborate with other youth engagement platforms across the globe and become the collective voice of the global youth. “Because of India's G20 presidency, what we are trying to achieve is becoming a bridge between the global north and the global south and with the Y20 pre-summit we have been able to have participation from all the different segments to try to fulfil that agenda.”