Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the Japanese city of Hiroshima for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held between May 19 and 21. The broad agenda of the G7 summit is likely to revolve around nuclear disarmament, economic resilience, economic security, regional issues, climate change, energy security, food and health.
During his three-day trip to Japan, PM Modi will be speaking on global challenges, including food, fertiliser and energy security. He will also be unveiling a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Hiroshima.
In the next six days starting today, PM Modi is set to visit three countries- Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. He will also attend three multilateral summits, including that of the G7 and the Quad. PM Modi will interact with over two dozen world leaders in summits as well as in bilateral meetings, officials said.
Before flying off to Japan, PM Modi said his presence at the G7 summit would be particularly meaningful in view of India’s G20 presidency.
“My presence in this G7 summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them,” PM Modi said.
“I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 summit,” he said.
Foreign Secretary Kwatra has said that India’s regular participation at the G7 summits clearly points to increasing recognition that it should be a part of any serious effort to resolve global challenges including those of peace, security and development. “This is even salient in the context of our ongoing presidency of the G20 and our particular efforts to prioritise the interests and concerns of our fellow members of the global south,” he added.
The Quad summit was originally scheduled to be held in Sydney but it will now take place in Hiroshima as US President Joe Biden postponed his visit to Australia to focus on crucial debt-ceiling talks in Washington.
The Quad leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan will discuss how they can deepen their cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, high-quality infrastructure, global health, climate change, maritime domain awareness, and other issues that matter to the people of the Indo-Pacific, according to the White House.
From Japan, PM Modi will fly to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, where he and Prime Minister James Marape will co-host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22.
Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea will be the first ever by any Indian prime minister.
“I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important summit (FIPIC),” Modi said.
FIPIC was launched during his visit to Fiji in 2014.
The Prime Minister will go to Australia for the third and last leg of his journey, where he will meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and discuss the diaspora event on May 23.
“I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia annual summit held in New Delhi in March this year,” he said.
“I will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event,” he said.
See Also: https://indiadiplomacy.in/japan-to-strengthen-special-strategic-global-partnership-with-india/
