India holds 100th G20 meeting under its presidency

NEW DELHI: The 100th G20 meeting under India's presidency, in the form of a conference of chief agricultural scientists, was held on Monday in Varanasi.

Calling it a key milestone, the government said in a statement that India's presidency had received immense support from G20 member-states and guest countries for its inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented and decisive agenda.

"Guided by the principle of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' and in line with our ethos of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', India's G20 presidency has worked to further global good and create a better planet," tweeted PM Narendra Modi on the occasion.

According to the government, the wide-ranging, large-scale and enthusiastic participation in India's G20 meetings was a testimony to the members and invitees coming together under India's presidency to collectively address contemporary global challenges.

India's presidency is likely to see more than 200 G20 meetings spread across 60 cities, out of which 41 have been covered so far. A meeting of the tourism working group will be held in Srinagar next month. Official sources said they expected all member-states to participate in the meeting. On whether or not Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will be invited to the G20 summit in September, they said India hasn't made any change to the guest list announced earlier for the summit.

"In-person participation during India's G20 Presidency is among the largest ever. Over 12,300 delegates, from over 110 nationalities have attended G20-related meetings so far," said the government in its statement. The events held so far have included two meetings of the finance ministers and another meeting of the foreign ministers.