G20 leaders will visit Rajghat to pay respects to Mahatma Gandhi, says senior official

New Delhi [India], August 30 : Leaders attending the G20 Summit here next month will visit Rajghat and pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Muktesh K Pardeshi, Special Secretary, G20 Operations told ANI in an exclusive interview that there will be three sessions during the summit and there will be a symbolic tree plantation event at the Bharat Mandapam with tree saplings representing different countries.
G20 Summit, to be held in Delhi on September 9 and 10, is the highest-level meeting at the level of head of state or head of government of the forum.
“We are having almost 230 meetings and as I speak today, almost 200 meetings at the functional level, at the senior officials' level have already taken place. We are proceeding towards the culmination of the G20 process which started on December 1 last year. We'll have high-level delegations led by the leaders coming to Delhi,” he said.  
The senior official said they are giving final shape to the arrangements. He said that they have formed a large number of teams who will look after the entire range of operations, including the arrival of leaders at the airport, their bilateral meetings, hospitality and food. 
“We are gearing up, the planning is at the final stage. We are giving final shape to the programme and different arrangements including traffic management, the hospitality arrangement, who would be doing what. We have created a large number of teams, small but effective teams and these teams are looking after the entire range of operations, including from arrival at the airport to looking after delegations’ requirements, their bilateral meetings, what kind of hospitality, food, etc will be provided. So the G20 Secretariat is here to provide end-to-end organizational support to all visiting delegations," he told ANI.
The senior official said that India will hand over the G20 Presidency to Brazil in the concluding session on September 10. 
"There'll be three sessions and the sessions will be around the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which in English is like One earth, One family and One Future. The leaders are allocated a certain time to speak about their country position. On September 10, in the concluding session, there'll be symbolic handing over of Presidency to the incoming Presidency which will be led by Brazil,” he said.
“In between leaders get some time and opportunity to interact with each other, what we call a bilateral meeting.  That's the responsibility of the host country to provide meeting space and logistical support so that leaders can meet. Some of them will also have bilateral meetings with our Prime Minister.  There are some ceremonial aspects and one of them is to visit and pay respect to the Father of the Nation. So leaders will be visiting Rajghat and that's a part of the ceremonial aspect. Usually any visiting head of state or government, they invariably go to Rajghat," he added.
The senior official said saplings to be planted at Bharat Mandapam would be national trees or native trees or trees that reflect the nature and the other cultural aspects of the countries.
"There will be a symbolic tree plantation event done at the Bharat Mandapam. These tree saplings represent different countries so they are either national trees or native trees or trees which reflect the nature and the other cultural aspects of the countries or organization. So that will happen at Bharat Mandapam," he said. 
Pardeshi said there will be a gala dinner on September 9 which will also include a cultural programme.
"On the 9th, there will be gala dinner and as part of the gala dinner, there'll be a short cultural programme, mostly the musical programme including young artists. They will play instrumental music before the leaders. But, beyond that we are also having a Craft Bazaar showcasing crafts from different states and union territories which will take place in hall number three that will be open as an exhibition as well as a shopping experience. So, delegates and the media friends, they will have some opportunity to visit the Craft Bazaar and do shopping as well," he said. 
The senior official noted that there will be a separate program for wives who will be accompanying G20 leaders.
"We are having a separate programme for the spouses who will be accompanying leaders. They will be taken to Rajghat, they will get an opportunity to visit Pusa Institute and as part of the programme they are likely to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art..... They will also have some kind of shopping experience which is being specially curated for the spouses at the Jaipur House," Pardeshi told ANI. 
The G20 comprises 19 nations and the European Union.
The senior official said India has extended special invitations to nine countries and some international organizations and there are about 40 delegations that will arrive in India at the leaders level. 
"We are approximately ten days away from the main event, an event to which we have been looking forward and for which we have been preparing from the day one we took over the presidency of the G20 on December 1 last year. Since then, we have been preparing for this mega event which is the Leaders' Summit. We will have presidents, prime ministers,  foreign ministers and top officials of different delegations," he said.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.