Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral meetings with United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron in Bali. He will also hold bilateral meetings with several other world leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. PM Modi will visit Bali from 14 to 16 November.
Sources told The Daily Guardian that Ukraine, the issues related to Indo-Pacific amid growing Chinese aggression and threat of terrorism will figure during PM Modi’s discussions with Sunak and Macron. His meeting with the UK PM will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders.
In the first call between PM Modi and his new British counterpart Rishi Sunak, the leaders had agreed to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 leadership summit in Bali.
PM Modi had emphasised the need for an early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides. So, PM Modi and Sunak will discuss early finalisation of India-UK Free trade agreement (FTA), sources said.
Sources said that PM Modi and French President Macron will reaffirm the close partnership between New Delhi and Paris. The focus would be on strengthening and deepening strategic ties between India and France, they added. France has recently issued its National Strategic Review 2022 in which it has emphasised deeper cooperation with New Delhi. The PM will also hold talks with the Suriname president and with host—Indonesia’s President Joko widodo.
The 17th edition of the G20 summit will take place from November 15 to 16. The summit will see world leaders gathering to chalk out solutions for the current global crisis. US President Joe Biden will also be in Bali. Biden is likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. For India, this year’s summit holds special significance since it will be handed the presidency of the mega grouping.
Earlier this month, PM Modi launched the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 presidency with much fanfare. India will host the G20 summit next year for the first time since 2008. Under the Indian presidency, two hundred G20 meetings will take place across the country beginning December of this year. The first meeting will be the Sherpa meeting in Udaipur in the first week of December. These meetings will be held in 32 different sectors in multiple locations across India.