New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar along with G20 delegates attended the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi on Sunday. India is hosting a three-day meeting of development ministers of the member nations with main focus on disruptions in global supply chains, food and energy security challenges and impacts of climate change among other issues.
The global meet, that began at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, is expected to be attended by over 200 delegates.
Addressing the conclave, EAM Jaishankar said that he has never seen a prime minister be welcomed the way PM Narendra Modi was welcomed by the prime ministers of Fiji and Australia at least in the 45 years of his career.
"The G20 development ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating achievement of the SDGs and foster synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries," the MEA was quoted by PTI as saying.
The G20 development ministers' conclave comes after the Voice of the Global South Summit that was hosted by India in January, and the decisions taken at the Varanasi meet will also contribute to the UN summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, the MEA said.
"Cultural programmes, exhibitions and excursions have also been organised to provide the delegates a glimpse into the rich culture and traditions of Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world," the MEA said.
The meeting will consist of two main sessions -- one on 'Multilateralism: Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs' and another on 'Green Development: A LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Approach'.
It is to be noted that the development ministers' meeting was preceded by the fourth and final development working group (DWG) meeting, which was held in Delhi from June 6-9.