Saudi Arabia released a special G20 Summit currency note of 20 Riyal banknote on October 24, to commemorate its presidency of organising G-20 summit on November 21-22. The rear side of the note which displayed the world map left India aghast.
The world map displayed on the rear side of the note does not show Jammu and Kashmir, PoK Gilgit-Baltistan as parts of India neither does it show as a part of Pakistan. The territory of Kashmir is disputed between India and Pakistan from the past 70 years.
The new note features King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the 2020 G20 Summit logo on one side. A world map highlighting G20 nations in a darker shade on the other is shown on the rear side.
What does the 20 Riyal currency note reveal?
The map shows the entire Jammu and Kashmir, including Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), as a separate territory. Even though the map doesn't show Gilgit Baltistan as part of Pakistan, the distortion was with the Indian map as well as it shows J&K to be a separate entity.
While several on social media called it a major snub to Pakistan saying that the Kingdom did not accept Pakistani territorial claims over J&K as it claims to be a Pakistani ally in the past. According to a report by India Today, India has taken up the matter with the Saudi Arabian embassy in New Delhi and the foreign ministry in Riyadh through the Indian mission there.
G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.
