Varanasi to Host G20 Development Ministers’ Meet: Jaishankar

On Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Varanasi will host the G20 development ministers’ meeting.

Addressing students at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Saturday, Jaishankar said, “Kashi is one of the important venues for the G20 meetings. And one of the meetings, the development ministers’ meeting that I will chair, will be held here.”

“So you will be more likely to see me on the streets of Varanasi,” he added. Jaishankar further said India has become more dominant, regionally. Earlier, the world used to see India and Pakistan on equal terms but not anymore, not even Pakistan, the EAM said, adding that India came out in the region as the primary power.

Jaishankar further expressed that the whole set of institutions, ideas, and campaigns are coming out of India.

“When the world looks at the rise of India, for them the contribution and successes of the diaspora are part of the story of the rise of India. So, we too have a responsibility. If so many Indians live abroad, we have to look after it (the diaspora),” the EAM said.

Earlier, Jaishankar inspected Kashi Tamil Sangamam Exhibition at the Banaras Hindu University’s (BHU) amphitheater.

On November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, recalled the traditional bond of knowledge and ancient civilizational connections between Kashi and Tamil Nadu.

“On the one hand, Kashi is our cultural capital, covering the whole of India. On the other hand, there is Tamil Nadu and Tamil culture, the centre of India’s antiquity and pride,” PM Modi had said.

Stressing the influence of ‘Sangams’ in the country during the KashiTamil Sangamam, PM Modi said, “Sangams have been given great glory and importance in our country. From the Sangams of rivers to thoughts-ideologies, knowledge-science, and societies-cultures, we have celebrated every Sangam.”