Last Update: May 21, 2023, 11:12 AM IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japan’s Fumio Kishida during the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. (Image/PTI)
PM Modi has a busy schedule in Papua New Guinea (PNG) where he will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Forum with PNG Prime Minister James Marape. Leaders of 14 countries will participate in this program
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land in Papua New Guinea (PNG) today after the Quad Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Prime Minister of PNG James Marape will receive Modi at the airport. Usually, the island nation does not formally welcome any leader after sunset, but an exception has been made for PM Modi.
This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to PNG.
PM Modi has a busy schedule in PNG where he will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC) which will see the participation of leaders from 14 countries along with Marpe of PNG.
Modi and Marape are expected to host a crucial bilateral meeting in which both sides will seek to strengthen bilateral ties as New Delhi worries about the island nation’s closeness to China.
Modi had said, “I look forward to holding talks with the leaders of PICs (Pacific Island Countries) on issues such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and welfare, infrastructure and economic development.”
Last November, Marape met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok during which Beijing called PNG a “good friend” and the two countries “good partners and good brothers”.
The island-nation has become a priority for India as well as members of the QUAD grouping such as the US and Australia as they deepen ties with Pacific island-nations as China aims to assert its influence in the region.
In his third leg of the visit, Prime Minister Modi will visit Sydney and hold bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. Modi is also expected to declare the Harris Park area in Parramatta, Australia as ‘Little India’ during a community event.