In Hiroshima for G7, PM to meet Zelenskyy

Sandeep Dikshit

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New Delhi, May 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Hiroshima where he arrived on Friday as part of his six-day tour of three nations.

Besides meeting Zelenskyy, who has been canvassing for his 10-point peace plan, PM Modi will have four more bilateral meetings on Saturday, including with leaders of host Japan, France, Vietnam and South Korea, said officials. In all, the PM will have about 40 engagements during his three-nation tour, including a simultaneous meeting with 14 leaders from Pacific Island countries.

Modi On three-nation tour

PM Modi invited as a guest to address G7 meeting in Hiroshima by Japan I Will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea I Host third summit of FIPIC I In Australia from May 22-24

Drum-beating over ‘fake’ narratives: Cong

Cong alleged that much hype was being created over PM Modi’s G7 summit participation in Japan through “fake narratives” and the “drum-beating” was meant to erase the contribution of previous govts. Cong general secy said Jairam Ramesh that Dr Manmohan Singh had attended “such G7+ Summits regularly.”

The PM, who arrived at the fag-end of the opening day of the G7 summit where he has been invited as a guest, was greeted at the airport by the Indian community. He will begin the day on Saturday by unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. Zelenskyy is currently in Jeddah canvassing support for the peace plan at the Arab League summit, which saw the re-entry of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into the fold after a decade of isolation. Earlier, in his departure statement, the PM said he was looking forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries. “My presence in this G7 summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 presidency this year,” he said in his departure statement.

Modi will be in Hiroshima till Sunday. He has been invited to speak on Saturday at the sixth and seventh working sessions of the G7 summit on challenges facing the globe. The G7 comprises Japan, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the EU.

From Japan, he will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22 jointly with Prime Minister James Marape.

His third and final leg of the trip will be to Australia from May 22 to 24. He was earlier slated to participate in the Quad summit which has now been shifted to Hiroshima and may take place on Saturday when a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden might also take place.

The Quad leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan are expected to discuss deepening cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, high-quality infrastructure, maritime domain awareness and the Indo-Pacific, according to a White House statement.

Meanwhile, on the first day of the G7 summit, the leaders agreed to impose even tighter sanctions against Russia. One of the sanctions proposed by Britain on Russian diamond trade could end up benefiting India just as it has been the gainer following the West’s ban on Russian oil.

Though some European countries are opposed to the move, Britain’s proposal of wider diamond sanctions could shift Russia’s trade from the established gem capital of Antwerp in Belgium to India or to Siberia where Indian diamond businessmen have set up shop.