Udaipur gets facelift ahead of G20 Sherpa meet next week; what's the plan?

Rajasthan’s Udaipur is gearing up to kick off the first major event under India’s G20 presidency in early December. The G20 Sherpa Meeting will be held from December 5 to 7, for which repairs and beautification works are on full swing.

From painting the walls with murals depicting Indian culture to decking up heritage sites with lights to cleaning up the lakes, various departments are at work simultaneously. “Udaipur will set a unique example in front of the country and the world by extending Mewari hospitality during the event,” District Collector Tara Chand Meena said on Tuesday.

All preparations will be completed by November 30, Meena said.

What is the Sherpa Meeting?

The G20 Sherpa Meeting is a preliminary meeting of the government representatives of all the G20 nations before the main summit. The representatives discuss the issues to be taken up during the main summit for possible agreements. The heads of states take the final decisions at the summit.

Indian Sherpa Amitabh Kant will preside over the G20 Sherpa Meeting.

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The G20 Sherpa Meeting will likely be held at the Darbar Hall in the Udaipur City Palace. The delegates will be accommodated at Fateh Prakash Palace, Hotel Udai Vilas, and Leela Palace. The royal dinner is likely to be held at Jag Mandir, where the delegates will get a taste of Indian delicacies as well as cuisine of the member countries. The menu, however, has not been finalised yet.

What’s in store for the delegates?

Shikha Saxena, deputy director of Regional Tourism Office, Udaipur, said, “The delegates will get a feel of Indian culture with a special touch of Rajasthan. The entire city is being decorated and beautified.”

“The delegates will get a glimpse of rural life at Shilpgram (at the West Zone Cultural Centre). Attractive cultural performances will be the highlight of the hospitality,” she said. Murals have been painted on walls in various parts of the city.

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A senior police official said tight security arrangements will be in place during the event, and Z-plus security cover will be provided to the delegates, who will arrive on December 4. Cultural performances will also be held at the City Palace and Jagmandir, according to official sources.

On December 7, the delegates will likely visit the 15th-century Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajsamand. From there, they will head to Ranakpur temple in Pali — one of the most brilliant architectural monuments in the country.

What will be discussed?

The three-day meeting will have sessions on topics such as accelerated, inclusive, and resilient growth; multilateralism; food, fuel, and fertiliser; and women-led development.

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The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).

India will hold the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022, and convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in 2023. India, as a host nation, will set the agenda of the G20 Summit to be held in September 2023 in New Delhi.