From uniting against China at ASEAN, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the ASEAN nations should be united as far as territorial issues are concerned to the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to have more than a dozen bilateral meetings with world leaders, according to reports.
China has been throwing its weight around and has territorial concerns to address not just with India, but also Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia and other countries of the ASEAN. Many islands in the South China Sea are disputed with various countries questioning China’s claim over it.
ASEAN apart, notably Russia’s top leadership is giving G20 a miss, while China’s premier will represent Xi Xinping which gave a lot of food for thought about what may have caused such a scenario, the focus is alsol on a lot of other G20 leaders and Indian PM Modi’s bilaterals with them.
He is scheduled to meet with Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh and Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius on Friday. Additionally, he will meet privately with US Vice President Joe Biden, which is much anticipated. Meetings with Hasina and Biden are expected to draw a lot of interest. Given its close relationship with Sheikh Hasina, India is strategically important for Bangladesh’s next elections. There is a perception that the opposition, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, is hostile to India’s interests.
Given that the General Electric-HAL fighter jet engine transaction has been cleared by the US Congress, the discussion with President Biden is likely to centre on defence technologies. It’s anticipated that the initiative will significantly transfer technology to India.
“It will be an opportunity to follow up on Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the United States, and we will see significant progress on a number of issues, such as the GE jet engine issue, the MQ-9 Reapers, on 5G and 6G, on collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, and also on advancements in the civil nuclear area. Therefore, we will celebrate all of that success when the two of them meet tomorrow, demonstrating the depth of our countries’ relations,” according to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
On September 9, PM Modi is slated to have separate meetings with the leaders of the UK, Japan, Germany, and Italy. After his election in late 2022, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to India for the first time. Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, and Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, have all already visited India.