New Delhi: G20 which has become a common term but start getting used to B20 now.

Assam and Sikkim till now have been identifed for holding G20 meetings, but other states would be holding B20 meetings from next month.

India has assumed G20 presidency from Dec 2022 to November 30, 2023.

The first G20 meeting would be held in Guwahati on Feb 2-3 and it will be on Sustainable Finance.

The Confederation of Indian Industry has taken the initiative to hold B20 meetings to explore partnership among business communities from G20 member countries towards developing a common agenda for development of critical sectors of the economy as a growth driver.

What is B20: The Business 20 (B20) is a group that represents the private sector within the Group of 20 (G20) Forum.

The B20 was established to provide a platform for the business community to engage with the G20 and to offer recommendations on policies that can support global economic growth and development.

CII is organising B20 Programmes in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs and state governments of Northeast. Complimentary chartered flight are being arranged for delegates attending the meetings.

B20 Programme will showcase the potential that the North East region offers for investment for global and local investors and highlight Opportunities for multilateral business partnerships in Industry sectors where North East States have core strength.

The B20 programme scheduled from February 17-19 in Imphal would focus on ICT, Medical Tourism, Healthcare and Handlooms.

The global IT market is on a growth path as the companies are rearranging their operations and recovering from the Covid 19 impact. The global medical tourism market is projected to reach US$47.72 billion by 2030. The Asia-Pacific region dominates the market for medical tourism.

B20 programme scheduled from 1-3 March in Aizawl would focus on Urban planning, Infrastructure & Skill Development. India offers a great opportunity for urban developers to invest with the government spending huge amount on developing green and smart cities.

From 16-19 March 2023 Gangtok would host a B20 programme focussing on Tourism, Hospitality, Pharmaceutical and Organic Farming and on 4-6 April B20 programme would be organised in Kohima focussing Agriculture and Food Processing.

In addition to the Business 20 meetings, each state would organize, an excursion to tourist sights, cultural program and Gala Dinner for participants to acquaint with the North Eastern states.

Speaking at the Precursor programme of B20 India Initiatives for North East States today in New Delhi, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh,

Minister of State of External Affairs, Government of India highlighted the unique strength of North East Region and its business potential and invited representatives of diplomatic missions, bilateral and multilateral agencies to take part in the B20 programmes scheduled in the North East States.

He highlighted few growth statistics as over the last 8 years, number of airports in the region has increased from 9 to 16, the number of flights connecting the region have increased from about 900, before 2014, to around 1900 as on date, many North Eastern states have come to Indian Railway map, for the first time, the length of national highways has increased by 50% since 2014 and efforts are being made to expand the waterways also.

Mr Muktesh K Pardeshi. OSD, G20 Operations mentioned that apart from the B20 events being organized in the four North eastern States namely, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim other events such as Youth 20, Science 20, Space 20 etc are being organized in the remaining states of Northeast.

Mr Harsh Vardhan Singla, Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency said that B20 events in Northeast will create a platform for one to one interaction not only with the State Ministers but also with some Union Ministers. The Residence Commissioners of Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim in Delhi and the Home Commissioner of Nagaland highlighted the business opportunities in their respective states.

Mr Pradeep Bagla, Co-chairman, CII North East Council invited Diplomatic Missions from G20 countries to facilitate trade and business delegations to participate in the B20 initiatives in the North East States.

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