Anurag to address session on April 27
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 25: The Y20 delegates were today accorded warm reception in Leh ahead of three days meeting beginning tomorrow in which more than 100 delegates from 30 countries are going to participate.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Services and Sports Anurag Thakur will interact with the delegates on April 27.
The Y20 meeting is part of year-long G20 summit meetings after India gained Presidency of the G20 last year.
A number of delegates from various countries reached Leh today while others are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. The Y20 meeting in Leh is scheduled between April 26-28.
“More than 100 delegates from 30+ countries are taking part in the pre-summit, making it the most inclusive & diverse youth summit,” a tweet by the DIPR Leh, said.
The delegates from G20 nations were warmly welcomed in Leh with traditional ‘Khataks’ & local folk song.
During the three days main event in Leh, discussion and deliberation on various issues like climate, environment, health & wellbeing & sports will be held.
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On April 27, the inaugural session will begin at the Sindhu Sanskriti where the Union Minister for Informational and Broadcasting and Youth Services and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur will address and interact with the delegates of Y20.
“Four-day Youth-20 meeting under G20 summit at Leh and visit of the delegates to Pangong lake which flows along the LAC with China in Eastern Ladakh will send strong message to China which had opposed such meeting in the Union Territory,” sources said.
The UT administration of Ladakh has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring smooth Youth-20 meeting which, like Jammu and Kashmir, is the first major international event after Ladakh was made the UT following bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and abrogation of its special status.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made with deployment of Ladakh Police and paramilitary forces at the international event’s venue, the Hotels where the delegates will stay and places of their visit.
Security and other arrangements for the event are being constantly monitored by Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Brig (Retired) BD Mishra and senior officers of civil and police administration.
China, which boycotted the G-20 engagement meeting in Arunachal Pradesh, is understood to be staying out of the meeting in Leh, sources said.
However, there was strong enthusiasm among the local people of Ladakh who believed that tourism will get major boost in the Union Territory due to conduct of international event.
Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Joint Secretary G20, Saugat Biswas, Divisional Commissioner, Ladakh; Pankaj Kumar Singh, Director, Youth Affairs; Manish Gautam, Director, PIB; Falit Sijariya, Representative of Y20 India Secretariat and Prof. Rajendra S. Dhaka, Chairman Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) addressed the media at the Curtain Raiser of Y20 Pre-Summit today in Leh.
Nagraj said that this engagement is primarily to deliberate on the issues which concern the youth of the world. “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,” he said.
This year G20 is being organised under India’s presidency on the theme “One Earth One Family One Future”. He said, Youth of today are very concerned about their future, there is heavy emphasis on climate change. Because this is the planet which is to be inherited by them in future. Also there is a lot of focus on health and sports. He added that Youth is participating from all over the world and tomorrow they have the opportunity to experience Leh and its beautiful culture.
Director, Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs Pankaj Kumar Singh said that 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 engagement process this year under India’s presidency.”
The meeting will bring together leading experts, decision makers, and youth leaders from G20 Countries to discuss and formulate actionable plans on the growth and development of the people. The meeting will focus 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 & Sports: Agenda for Youth, he said.
Saugat Biswas, Divisional Commissioner, Ladakh said that Leh administration has provided all support to make the engagement meeting a grand success. He added that Education Department has organised several events, quiz competitions , discussions to engage youth on themes of climate change and sustainability and a lot of jan bhagidari activities have been organised in schools , colleges to engage youth. He also said that in line with PM’s vision of Carbon neutral Ladakh, delegates have been provided electric buses. The delegates were also given traditional welcome at the Airport to showcase the culture of Leh.
Falit Sijariya, Representative of Y20 India Secretariat said 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 India’s G20 presidency, what we are trying to achieve is becoming a bridge between 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 fulfill that agenda, he added.
India has assumed the G20 Presidency on 1st December, 2022 for a period of 1 year i.e. upto 30th November, 2023. India’s theme for its presidency is enshrined in its civilizational value system of ‘Vasudeva kutumbakam’. Hence our theme – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future,” he added.
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