Several country representatives abstained from attending the G20 meeting in Srinagar but the same are attending in Delhi

Several nations which did not attend the G20 Tourism meeting in Srinagar are attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi. Congress Working Committee member Tariq Hameed Karra has hit out at such nations saying it reflects their attitude. Reports ETV Bharat's Zulqarnain Zulfi

Srinagar: For the G20 Summit, which begins on September 9, New Delhi is all decked up to welcome the delegates. The Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the venue, has been lit up and embellished with plants, flowers, and other festive decorations.

Pertinently, two-thirds of the world's population and 19 nations, including the European Union, make up the G20. Together, they account for roughly 85 per cent of global GDP. During the two-day event, the leaders of the 20 largest economies will debate and come up with solutions for a number of important global concerns, including food security, sustainable development goals, climate funding, digital transformation, and others.

While the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have confirmed their participation, a number of national delegates did not show up to the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting, which was held here in May. The European Union and Mexico have opted not to attend the G20 summit in Delhi, while the US, UK, China, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Russia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Argentina have confirmed their attendance.

Italy and Indonesia have still not decided whether or not to attend the summit. US President Joe Biden will visit India to attend the G20 Summit. He will also have one-on-one conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. China's President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 Summit for the first time since the first edition was held in 2008. The Chinese delegation will be led by Li Qiang, the Premier of the Chinese State Council.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has also confirmed his attendance. After becoming Prime Minister, he would be making his first official trip to India. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will also attend the much-anticipated G20 Summit and so will Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The summit will be attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and others.

The G20 presidency of India has received the full backing of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, although he has not yet confirmed his presence in person. Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the G20 Summit and will be represented by the country's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are unsure about their presence.

China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, as well as two guest nations who have been invited by India—Egypt and Oman—were among those who did not send their representatives, despite the fact that three Islamic nations — Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh—were present at the G20 Tourism Summit. Saudi Arabia and Egypt also had some unofficial representatives. Regarding participation at the G20 conference in Srinagar, China and Pakistan also released their statements.

Chinese Foreign Ministry had stated in a statement that it vehemently opposes hosting such gatherings on the "disputed territory" in May. "China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory. We will not attend such meetings," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had said.

The G20 summit being held in Jammu and Kashmir was opposed by Pakistan too. The Opposition of its neighbours has also been disregarded by India. According to reports, Pakistan's reservations were a factor in China's decision to forego the summit.

Former Lok Sabha member and current member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Tariq Hameed Karra, believes that a country's ability to participate in meetings like the G20 relies on its foreign policy.

"Every nation has a unique foreign policy. If a country believes a disputable and ongoing problem in the host country and has also taken a position on the topic in their own Parliament, in accordance with that policy, in such a situation, this country would be violating the position they have previously taken in their Parliament if they participated in a multi-nation event that was sponsored by that specific nation," he said.

He further said, "Such nations made the decision not to attend the G20 summit in Srinagar. It's probable that the nations which skipped the meeting in Srinagar may show up during the meeting in Delhi. This suggests that attitudes regarding Kashmir among those living outside the nation are diverse.