Opportunities for multilateral business partnerships in tourism, hospitality and pharmaceuticals will be highlighted simultaneously with Sikkim’s vibrant organic farming at the B20 Conference in Gangtok on March 15-17, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) .

Set up during the current India’s G20 presidency, Startup20 aims to act as dialogue forum with the global start-up ecosystem stakeholders. The second meeting of Startup20 will be held in Gangtok on March 18-19, a government released noted.

The DPIIT planned four B20 Conferences—the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community—in the North Eastern to showcase the untapped potential and opportunities within the region, the release said.

“Two (of the four B20 conferences) have already been held earlier in Imphal and Aizawl and the third and fourth are to be held in Gangtok and Kohima, respectively,” it added. 

India holds the rotating G20 presidency this year and has planned multiple meetings with leaders, officials and business representatives from member countries across India. The G20 Summit, where heads of States from all G20 members are scheduled to participate, will be held in September this year.

“The B20 has scheduled a total of 100 meetings including 65 in-person meetings and 35 hybrid meetings,” the release said.

“The key deliverables of B20 include action plan for reskilling and up-skilling of the workforce to operate in a technological world, promoting investment in green energy across countries and improving climate finance options and non-financial disclosures, development of an inclusive ecosystem for innovation and R&D, promoting higher private sector participation to build regional value chains and industrialisation of Africa,” said  Rupa Dutta, Senior Advisor, DPIIT at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The Startup20 engagement group has a total number of 60 meetings planned, of which 5 are in-person meetings. 

The B20 Summit is scheduled in New Delhi on August 26-27, while the Startup20 Summit will be held in Gurugram from July 2-4.