Among the nine invited nations, Egypt joined China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia in formally withdrawing from the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting taking place in Kashmir.
Although several private tourist representatives from Turkey and Saudi Arabia joined, there was no Chinese delegate among the 120 international delegates from 17 nations who arrived in Srinagar on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was cited as stating by PTI in Beijing: “China firmly opposes convening any type of G20 meetings on disputed land… We won’t go to these meetings.
China was given a sharp reply from India after it objected to the G20 Tourism Working Group conference being held in Kashmir, claiming the right to host meetings on its own soil.
In a similar vein, New Delhi rejected Pakistan’s claims that the G20 conference in Srinagar was a “irresponsible move” and asserted that Jammu & Kashmir is a part of India and that it is well within its rights to host such event there.
The three-day event in Kashmir is being attended by participants from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
