AMN / WEB DESK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed for Papua New Guinea for the second leg of his three-nation tour to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Mr Modi will jointly host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape tomorrow. FIPIC was launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Fiji in November 2014.
The FIPIC includes India and fourteen Pacific Island Countries. These are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Palau, Nauru and Solomon Islands.
Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral engagements in Papua New Guinea, including meetings with Governor-General Bob Dadae and Prime Minister James Marape. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his bilateral engagements this morning by holding talks with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak in Hiroshima, Japan. The two leaders reviewed India UK Strategic Partnership and took stock of progress in India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
Both leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade and investment, science and technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship. He also held fruitful talks with Brazil President Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
In a tweet, Mr Modi said India and Brazil will keep working together to deepen trade ties. They discussed diversifying cooperation in sectors like agriculture and defence.
The leaders exchanged views on regional developments. They emphasised the importance of continued cooperation in multilateral platforms and the long-standing need for reform of multilateral institutions. This was the first meeting between the two leaders.
The Prime Minister attended a Working Session on ‘Toward a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous World’ at the G7 Summit in Japan’s Hiroshima.
In his opening remarks at the session, Mr Modi said, the situation in Ukraine is an issue of humanity and human values. He pointed out that India has said from the very beginning that dialogue and diplomacy are the only way out. He said, India has always been of the opinion that any tension, any dispute should be resolved peacefully, through dialogue.
He remarked that global peace, stability and prosperity is the common objective. The Prime Minister said in the current global situation, the most profound effects of the food, fuel and fertiliser crisis are being felt by developing countries. He added that it is necessary that all countries respect the UN Charter, international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries