G20: First tourism track meeting to be held in Rann of Kutch

Preparations for the G20 meetings in India are on course and the first meeting under the tourism track will be held in the picturesque Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, a top official said here on Friday.

Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh also told reporters on the sidelines of an event at the UN House that sustainability will be one of the priority areas when India hosts the G20 events.

India will assume the yearlong presidency of G20 on December 1 and more than 200 meetings of the bloc will be held across 55 locations in the country.

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The first G20 meeting will be held in the first week of December in Rajasthan's Udaipur when the G20 Sherpa meet will take place, officials had earlier said.

From painting walls to depicting the Indian culture to decking up heritage sites with lights -- hectic preparations are underway in Udaipur for the first G20 Sherpa meeting.

The first meeting of the G20 under the tourism track will take place in Rann of Kutch of Gujarat late January or early February, Singh said.

"The second meeting (in this category) will be held in Siliguri, the third one in Srinagar and the fourth one in Goa," he added.

Asked about the preparations for the G20 meetings, Singh said "it is absolutely on track".

Earlier, Singh took part in the CEO Roundtable on Sustainable Tourism hosted by the Ministry of Tourism at the UN House, which brought industry leaders and other stakeholders and participants from the environment conservation sector and NGOs together to discuss the way forward.