Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left on a three-nation tour of Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral meetings, including the G7 Summit and the Quad Summit, and hold bilateral talks with over 20 world leaders on challenges confronting the world.
In a statement before his departure for Hiroshima in Japan, he said his presence at the G7 Summit there was 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. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit,” he added.
The Quad Summit of the leaders of India, Japan, Australia and the US will also take place in Hiroshima.
From Japan, Modi will head to Port Moresby on the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea. He will host on 22 May the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
The prime minister said he was grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. The FIPIC had been launched during his visit to Fiji in 2014. He said he looked to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring them together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.
Apart from the FIPIC engagements, he will have bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the summit.
Thereafter, he will travel to Sydney at the invitation of Prime Minister Albanese. He said he looked forward to the bilateral meeting with Albanese, which will be an opportunity to take stock of bilateral ties and follow up on the first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year. He will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event.