Modi to meet Zelenskyy in Japan
NEW DELHI: Chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ echoed in Hiroshima in Japan as the Indian disapora extended a warm welcome to Prime Minister a warm welcome. Modi has a tight schedule in Hiroshima, which includes bilateral meetings with leaders of G-7 and also the Quad meeting. He is also scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Vlodomoyr Zelenskyy.
“It will be a pleasure to meet PM Fumio Kishida again. My presence in the 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,’’ said the Prime Minister.
“PM Modi will first have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, early morning on Saturday. Following the meeting PM Modi will unveil a Bust of Mahatma Gandhi,’’ said a source.
The other bilateral meetings will be with Ukraine, Korea, Vietnam and France at the G7 Summit venue.
PM Modi and President Zelenskyy will have the first in-person meeting after the outbreak of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia on February 24, 2022. Modi has had telephonic talks with President Zelenskyy urging him to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. He had communicated the same to the Russian President Vladimir Putin and reiterated that this is `no era for war.’
“India’s regular participation in the G7 Summits (this is the 10 time that India has been invited) clearly points to increasing recognition that India should be a part of any serious effort to resolve international
challenges, including those of peace, security, development and environmental preservation,’’ said Foreign Secretary, Vinay Kwatra.
Late evening on Saturday, around 8 pm Hiroshima local time, the Quad leaders will meet for the Quad Leaders’ Summit. This will be attended by PM Modi, US President Joe Biden, PM Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Before embarking on a tour of Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, PM Modi in a statement said: “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 that he would be interacting with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meeting the Indian diaspora in Sydney at a special event. Be it known that the PM’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),” said the prime minister. Sources in the PMO said the PM is visiting the Japanese city of Hiroshima from May 19 to 21 primarily for the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies in the first leg of his visit.
From Japan, the PM Modi will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea with a plan host the third summit of the FIPIC on May 22 jointly with Prime Minister James Marape. In the last leg of visit, the PM Modi will be visiting Australia from May 22 to 24.