Some neighbouring countries tried to stop G20 meet in Ladakh: Anurag Thakur at Y20 Summit

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

India from hosting a G20 meeting in Ladakh, but it turned out to be a «hugely successful event» that saw the participation of youth from across the world, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Y20 Summit here, the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister said India had taken its G-20 presidency to hundreds of schools and colleges across the country and sought the participation of the youth in shaping the global agenda.

«When we went to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, some neighbouring countries created such a hue and cry to prevent the pre-summit from taking place there. But, the meeting was hugely successful in spite of the attempts to stop it,» Thakur said.

The Y20 Summit at the Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre here was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and attended by 120 delegates from G-20 countries, guest nations and international organizations. Addressing the attendees of the function, Adityanath said several youth icons, such as Lord Rama, Krishna and Buddha to more contemporary figures like Swami Vivekanand, Subhas Chandra Bose, Chandrasekhar Azad and Vinayaka Damodar Savarkar, all of them have inspired people throughout ages and guided the country towards a new direction.

The chief minister said the 'Triveni' (confluence of three factors) of demography, democracy, and diversity makes the country unique. He added that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, in the last nine years, launched several youth-oriented schemes such as Stand Up India and Start-Up India for promoting innovation and research in the country.