NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Buenos Aires, Argentina for the 10th G-20 summit on Wednesday evening, and returns to New Delhi late evening December 2.
Apart from the actual summit of the grouping, which comprises 19 countries and the EU, Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Noting that Modi would be "on the ground" in Buenos Aires for just 48 hours, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters in New Delhi Tuesday evening that apart from the multilateral meetings, there would be a few bilateral meetings on the margins of the summit.
The actual summit comprises the leaders retreat and three main sessions, and Modi will make the lead intervention in the first session, 'Putting People First' and subsidiary interventions in the other two sessions on "building consensus" and 'Embracing Opportunities.'
The prime minister was likely to dwell on the flagship programs of his government, like the Jan Dhan Yojana, the Mudra scheme, Aadhar, Ayushman Bharat, and open up the International Solar Alliance to countries beyond the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Other issues which would be raised include the risks posed by oil price volatility, which has impacted India, and combating terror financing and money laundering, strengthening the WTO, 'reformed multilateralism,' and 'disaster resilient infrastructure," aimed at ensuring that disasters are addressed not just with aid, but with infrastructure capable of withstanding a similar disaster later.
Asked about the agenda of the Modi-Xi's visit, Gokhale noted that the meeting will be fourth between the two leaders in last seven months. "It was decided in (the) Wuhan (Summit between Modi and Xi) that they would take the opportunity whenever and wherever they could meet. They could discuss issues on either leader's mind or issues of mutual concern," Gokhale said.
Modi will also meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, host Argentina's president Mauricio Macri, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, He will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the prime ministers of Spain, Jamaica, the Netherlands and the president of European Union and European Council, and probably French President Emmanuel Macron.
On Tuesday, Arunachal East MP Ninong Ering wrote a letter to Modi urging him to raise issues like stapled visas and a water treaty over the Siang-Brahmaputra river during his meeting with Xi. Noting that the relationship between India and China is very critical from Arunachal Pradesh's viewpoint since it has an international border with China, he said that "the issue of China providing stapled visas to people from our Arunachal Pradesh is not new and must be brought to their attention tactfully. The Government of India must assert the territorial integrity of India and convey the feelings of Arunachal Pradesh people in a firm manner." Noting that "at many instances in recent time, Chinese troops have tried to enter into Arunachal Pradesh and build roads, recently in Bising village of Tuting subdivision", he said Modi "must protest against such incidents" and ask China to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India for a peaceful co-existence, as envisaged in historical Panchsheel agreement.
"A few months back, the holy Siang river which is the lifeline of our state turned black due to ill-intent projects and diversion of waters of Brahmaputra river by the Chinese authorities," he added, and suggested that the government must focus on negotiating a water treaty with China for the sustainable development of the region. "It will help the north-eastern States of India to have their natural right of clean and continuous water," he added, hoping that Modi would "stand up to the hopes and aspirations of people from Arunachal Pradesh".