Punjab leg of G20 meet kicks off tomorrow in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

GS Paul

Amritsar, March 13

The holy city of Amritsar is all set to host the Punjab leg of the G20 summit, to be attended by a grouping of the world’s major economies.

Education on agenda

• IIT-Ropar will conduct the event
• In the first phase, the 2nd Education Working Group Meeting will be held between March 15 and 17.
• In the second phase, a two-day Labour 20 (L20) meeting would be held on March 19 and 20.

The event has been scheduled from March 15 in two phases. In the first phase, the 2nd Education Working Group Meeting will be held between March 15 and 17.

It will be conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, at the Khalsa College with the theme of ‘Promoting research and innovations through collaboration”.

The participants in this meeting would have representatives of international organisations such as UNESCO, UNICEF and World Bank, among others.

Prof Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT-Ropar, said the G20 event, allotted to the institute by the Ministry of Education, would help in preparing a roadmap for multi-partner collaborations.

He said the G20 member countries were engaged in initiatives for promoting the use of digital technologies for ensuring quality learning opportunities for all.

An exhibition of technologies and innovations is also being set up by the IIT as part of this grand event for delegates to get a feel of the global scenario of innovations for the betterment of mankind.

More than 90 exhibitors, including IIM-Amritsar, Punjab Tourism, PAU, Technology Business Incubator, PU, NCERT, National Book Trust, China’s Ministry of Education, UAE’s Ministry of Education, IIT-Mandi, will have their stalls at the College.

In the second phase, a two-day Labour 20 (L20) meeting would be held on March 19 and 20. It would comprise leaders and representatives of trade union centres of G20 countries, who would provide analyses and policy recommendations aiming to address labour-related issues.

A major aspect of the event would be the security of high-profile international dignitaries, especially keeping in view the location of the border district. A huge contingent of the Punjab Police, CRPF and other paramilitary forces such as the RAF has been stationed in the city.

The dignitaries will also visit the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and the Partition Museum. However, due to security concerns, the ‘Beating Retreat’ ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border has not been included in the itinerary.

The district administration will also host a Sufi festival at the Gobindgarh Fort on the evenings of March 15-17. It is learnt that for two days, it would be open for the public as well, but on March 17, the event would be reserved only for the G20 delegates.

The government had sanctioned around Rs 100 crore for the facelift of the city to improve the road infrastructure and sanitation.

The renovation work included the road repairs, re-carpeting of the existing roads and beautifying footpaths. The streetlights in the city were repaired and flowers were planted along the road berms.

Meanwhile, various international and national speakers will go to Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) to participate in Youth 20 (Y20) Consultation Summit.

During the event, there would be different panels and panelists of national and international fame will interact with youth at the newly-built Golden Jubilee Convention Centre of the university.

Agri-tech and food security, emerging global job opportunities through international relations, research in nanotechnology, material science on Industry 4.0 and creation of skilled workforce for sustainable built environment in real estate market would be the key points to be discussed by the experts, said Vice-Chancellor Professor Jaspal Singh Sandhu.

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