Varanasi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday had breakfast at Dalit booth president Sujata Dhusia's residence in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
The EAM post his visit to Sujata's residence, said: "The breakfast was delicious. From today onwards, we are having G20 programs in Varanasi; there will be discussions on food security, grains, fertilisers & millet."
Before Jaishankar's visit, the BJP Booth President Sujata said: "Our entire family has been making preparations since yesterday. We are also cleaning. We have made Kachori, aaloo paneer ki sabzi. We will make him drink water from a kulhad. We are happy that an important person is coming to our house."
Sujata's uncle Munna Lal Dhusia said: "We are poor people. We are very happy that a minister is coming to our house. We will welcome him with all we have. We have one sukhaa sabzi, one paneer sabzi, poori, kheer. We have made all preparations and are waiting for him. Our entire family is happy." Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Sunday tweeted: "The historic city of Varanasi gears up to host the Development Ministers' Meeting (DMM) under #G20India from June 11-13." The G20 Development Ministers' Meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency is scheduled to be held between June 11-13 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will chair the meeting.
The meeting, to be held as part of India's G20 Presidency, will also see a special video address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release.
The Varanasi Development Ministers' Meeting takes place in the midst of mounting developmental challenges that have been made worse by the slowdown in the global economy, debt distress, the effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, rising poverty and inequality, the cost of living crisis, supply chain disruptions around the world, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
The G20 Development Ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries, the Ministry of External Affairs stated in its release.
The Varanasi gathering follows the Voice of the Global South Summit, which was hosted by India in January 2023.
The decisions made at the Varanasi meeting will also have an impact on the United Nations SDG Summit, which will be held in New York in September. —ANI
