Jaipur, Dec 20 (IANS): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has arrived in Jaisalmer for the 55th GST Council meeting scheduled to be held on Saturday at Marriott Hotel.

Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, and Finance Ministers from various states, along with Finance Secretaries and senior officials, also reached Jaisalmer on Friday. The dignitaries were welcomed at Hotel Marriott amidst tight security arrangements.

Jaisalmer Airport witnessed significant activity as leaders from across the country, including Deputy CM Diya Kumari, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, and Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi, arrived by special flights. Union Finance Minister Sitharaman was received at the airport by Rajasthan Deputy CM Diya Kumari.

Local officials, including MLA Chotu Singh Bhati, District Collector Pratap Singh and SP Sudhir Chaudhary, ensured smooth logistics and security for the event. Over 2,000 security personnel have been deployed across the city, with extensive arrangements in place to ensure the safety of more than 250 VVIPs participating in the meeting.

The pre-meeting discussions at Hotel Marriott included Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary (Bihar), Jagdish Devda (MP), Chowna Mein (Arunachal Pradesh), Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu (Telangana), and T. R. Zeliang (Nagaland), alongside Finance Ministers from other states and Chief Economic Advisor Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran.

The main GST Council meeting will commence on Saturday, December 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., followed by a second session at 4:30 p.m. Sitharaman will stay overnight in Jaisalmer and depart for Delhi on Sunday at 2:25 p.m.

For the event, four premier hotels—Marriott, Taj Gorbandh, ITC Hotel, and Rang Mahal—have been fully booked to accommodate the participants. The discussions in the 55th GST Council meeting, chaired by Sitharaman, are expected to address significant fiscal issues ahead of the budget preparations.