Prime Minister Narendra Modi today departed for his six-day visit to three countries – Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, to attend multilateral summits. During his trip, PM Modi is also scheduled to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit.
According to the external affairs ministry, the Prime Minister will first visit Hiroshima in Japan from May 19 to 21 to participate in the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies under the Japanese Presidency. He is visiting Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
After attending the G7 summit, the Prime Minister will head to Papua New Guinea. It will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Papua New Guinea. He will co-chair the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in Papua New Guinea.
At the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Modi will speak at G7 sessions with partner countries on subjects such as peace, stability and prosperity of a sustainable planet; food, fertiliser and energy security; health; gender equality; climate change and environment; resilient infrastructure; and development cooperation.
The Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the participating leaders on the sidelines of the summit. In recent years, the economic relationship between Japan and India has steadily expanded and deepened. The volume of trade between the two countries has increased.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden announced that he will postpone the Australia leg of his Asia trip, along with that of Papua New Guinea because of domestic issues.
In Papua New Guinea, the PM will host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape on May 22. Launched in 2014, the FIPIC involves India and 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) – Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Palau, Nauru and the Solomon Islands.
A Ministry of External Affairs release said that Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral engagements in Papua New Guinea, including meetings with Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae and Prime Minister James Marape.
After concluding his visit to Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will travel to Sydney despite the cancellation of the Quad Leaders’ meeting. He will arrive in Australia on May 23. Australian PM Albanese said the leaders of Australia, the US, India and Japan -the Quad grouping- would now likely meet on the sidelines of the G7 in Japan this weekend.
According to sources, PM Modi will have a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart Albanese on May 24. He will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and address the Indian diaspora at a community event in Sydney on May 23.
