New Delhi: China did not take part in the two-day side event of the G20 process on science and innovation held in the capital of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.During the year-long G20 chairmanship, India has organised over 55 meetings across the country. The three main ‘workstreams’ in the G20 are the sherpa, finance and engagement groups, each with scores of sub-groups.The G20 official website only lists the three streams on its calendar. But there are also several other meetings which are held at the discretion of the host.As part of the science vertical, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has a Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and had planned five meetings before the ministerial summit in Mumbai in July.While all the meetings under its aegis are being held in a single city, the third side event was scheduled in two cities, Dibrugarh in Assam and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The first part was held on Friday in Dibrugarh, followed by the delegates travelling to Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.Sources confirmed that there was no official representation from China at the G20 meeting in Itanagar. However, there is no clarity if there was Chinese participation at the first part of the event in Assam.China claims that all of Arunachal Pradesh is part of China and has routinely objected to the visit of Indian and foreign leaders to the Indian state.The delegates arrived at Donyi Polo airport in Itanagar on Saturday to a welcome from cultural troupes from across the state. There was also a cultural fiesta in the evening.In the second week of May, Jammu and Kashmir will host senior officials from G20 culture ministries. The G20 meeting in Srinagar, which is likely to irk Pakistan, is a much higher-level meeting compared to the RIIG event in Itanagar.
