Indian and Chinese troops have been embroiled in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, and the government’s proposal to hold the meetings in the union territory will likely be seen as a snub to China.

India assumes the chairmanship of the G-20 on December 1 this year. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is due to travel to Bali, Indonesia to attend the G-20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 7-8.

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur has authorized the appointments of Divisional Commissioner Saugat Biswas and Leh-Kargil Range DIG Junaid Mehmood as nodal officers to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, which houses the G- 20.

The J&K administration had on June 23 appointed a five-member committee headed by the Principal Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development, to coordinate the G-20 meetings to be held in UT.

India’s proposal to hold the preparatory meetings of the international grouping in 2023 at J&K had drawn strong reactions from Pakistan, which said it hoped that members of the grouping would be fully aware of the imperatives of law and justice and would categorically oppose the proposal.

China later voiced its opposition to the Indian government’s move, saying “concerned parties should avoid complicating the situation with the unilateral move.”

It will be the first major international meet to be held in the former state since August 2019, when J&K was stripped of its special status and split into Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

The G-20 brings together the world’s major economies and counts among its members the United States, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. , South Korea and Turkey, in addition to the European Union.