Opinion | Holding G20 summit in J&K can be a major diplomatic victory for India

“G20 Presidency Is Opportunity For J&K To Showcase Its Tourism Potential On World Stage.”

The rise of a nation depends not just on diplomatic dexterity and economic power. The external environment also plays a crucial role. New Delhi is increasingly being seen as a serious player on the global stage. As a leading power, India is a voice of the global south, yet it is equally at ease among the great powers and enjoys a degree of acceptability among different poles in the chessboard of geopolitics. as India moves up the power ladder, the world’s top superpower is actively facilitating its rise. India has hit a sweet geopolitical spot. This window won’t last forever, but till it does, it presents India with a tremendous opportunity to leverage its partnerships through multi-aligned and issue-based engagements. Terming India’s G20 Presidency a “very big deal”, External Affairs ministry has said the country has taken up the responsibility to host the meetings of the powerful grouping at a time when there is great economic stress on the global supply chains and strong political polarisation in the world.

Jammu and Kashmir will be hosting the 2023 meetings of G20, an influential grouping that brings together the world’s major economies, with the union territory administration having set up a five-member high-level committee for overall coordination .
Many people are of the opinion, that due to ongoing terrorism in parts of kashmir , holding the G20 summit here is not advisable. However, the flip side is that holding this meet here will dispel many myths and fallacies being peddled by Pakistan. It will also enable global leaders who are part of G20 to have first-hand information and personal feel about Kashmir. No wonder Pakistan has vehemently objected to this move, and expectedly, China is supporting Islamabad’s stand and even approached Saudi Arabia and Turkey to thwart India’s move. However, Pakistan’s objection to the G20 summit being held in Kashmir has no legal or even moral standing and as such is a non-issue for the international community!
However if G-20 summit goes ahead as per the plan, as kashmir prepares , it will be for the first time that a major international summit is held in Jammu and Kashmir which has opened for business and investment from outsiders after the abrogation of the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370 in August 2019. By holding the G20 events in Jammu and Kashmir, India also wants to convey to the world that the restive region is back to normalcy and ready for businesses. It is seen as a bold and audacious diplomatic statement to the world asserting that Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India.
If the move matures, India will be able to expose before the world nefarious designs of Pakistan and its sponsors and also establish that people of this UT believe in peace, development and prosperity.
Given the opportunity, Jammu and Kashmir will definitely be able to attract foreign investment in tourism, infrastructure, adventure sports, agriculture and even health sector there is possibility that this event is being held in many parts of valley . If this matures, Gulmarg will become India’s Davos, a mountain resort town in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland where World Economic Forum (WEF) holds its annual meeting and world leaders descend there. By making Jammu and Kashmir important, presumption of our UT being disturbed will be done away with. India, in years to come and especially through these proposed meetings, will also be strengthening international support in varied social and economic sectors including energy, trade, digital economy, employment, anti-corruption and women empowerment.
Hence, while communicating with G20 partners and others, India’s case will be to make sure that there are enough changes on the ground so that Pakistan understands the need to change accordingly.

The G20 or Group of Twenty is a unique intergovernmental forum comprising key global stakeholders—world’s leading developed nations and emerging economies—aimed at achieving economic transformations through creative synergies and socio-institutional innovation. The Summit is held annually under the leadership of a rotating presidency.
Early in December 2022, India was instituted at the helm of the affairs of the G20 for the year 2022-23. The agenda is set to convene over 200 meetings of ministers, government officials and civil society members across 32 different workstreams in 50 cities, leading up to a final summit in September 2023.

China’s uneasiness on India’s G20 presidency
While India’s rise as an emerging market is being appreciated globally, especially the multilateral institutions, it has got an opportunity to lead a meaningful conversation between the global South and North under the G-20 Presidency. But China’s recent utterances and activities show that it is not at ease with India’s rise.

For Beijing, it is difficult to swallow that India is rising in global stature and influence whereas, China is being looked as an autocratic country with an aspiration to be a global power through economic development bereft of elements of sustainable development and with a military expansionist approach, both regionally and globally. Much to its dislike, Beijing could neither pressurise nor allure India to steer ahead its skewed agenda.

China envies as it feels that India is using G-20 platform to enhance its stature and influence and realize its own political objectives. Further, many of G-20 agenda under Indian presidency offers challenge to Beijing’s designs to be a global power.
Contrary to Beijing’s confrontationist approach, Indian leadership enjoys the credentials of a consensus builder on global issues – bilateral or multilateral. While forming objectives and their implementation, India takes into consideration perceptions and concerns of all the stakeholders.

Conclusion
Kashmir will be holding one of the biggest multilateral summit for the first time. Move likely to bring huge tourism and infrastructure. Since 2019 the security situation has improved a lot in kashmir . Tourism number track record high. Now is chance to capitalise that to show the world that kashmir is open for everything now , for sports , for business even for diplomacy . Secondly it will bring in lot of investments . All of this will help the local economy as well. During every diplomatic summit the host city gets a huge influx of money , Also the political impact will be much bigger . Kashmir has seen proxy wars , targeted killings, cross border terrorism . It has always become a sensitive issue in our country’s foreign policy , Now hosting G20 could be a master stroke and a chance to bust Pakistan’s propaganda , which means India must work extra hard to make this summit successful.

(About Writer : Adv Sajid Yousuf Shah is a columnist, J&K-based Activist he can be reached at sajidyousufshah@gmail.com)