China and Turkey are among the G20 member states that will not attend a tourism working group meeting scheduled to take place in Srinagar next week, according to some reports in the media.
The meeting, scheduled from May 22 to May 24, is considered one of the largest international events to be organized in Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019. Tight security measures have been implemented around the venue, the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conventional Centre (SKICC), situated on the banks of Dal Lake.
It remains uncertain whether Indonesia, the previous president of the G20 and a member of the grouping’s troika, will participate in the meeting in Srinagar.
Despite objections raised by Pakistan, India has dismissed concerns over hosting G20 meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, asserting that similar events are being organized in all states and union territories ahead of the summit in New Delhi scheduled for September. China, which previously skipped a G20 meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh in March, has decided not to attend the meeting in Srinagar, allegedly due to objections from its close ally, Pakistan. Turkey, on the other hand, has criticized India’s handling of the situation in Kashmir in previous years, leading to its decision to skip the event.
