Modi In Japan: PM Meets Rishi Sunak In Hiroshima, Discusses Trade, Innovation Among Other Sectors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with UK PM Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The two leaders are in Japan to attend the G7 Summit which is being held from May 19-21 in the historic city of Hiroshima. Prime Minister Modi on Sunday visited the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima and signed the visitor's book. The PM also paid tribute to the memory of Hiroshima victims at Peace Memorial Park.

PM Modi said, "The meeting with PM Sunak was a very fruitful one. We discussed boosting cooperation in trade, innovation, science and other such sectors."

According to MEA, during their meeting PM Modi and UK PK Sunak reviewed their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including taking stock of progress in India-UK FTA negotiations. The two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade & investment, science & technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship.

MEA added that the discussions also took place on India's ongoing G-20 Presidency. PM Modi looked forward to welcoming UK PM Sunak in New Delhi for the G-20 Summit.

According to the news agency ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his day by visiting the Peace Memorial Museum, where he observed the documented exhibits and signed the visitor’s book. PM Modi paid tribute to the memory of Hiroshima victims at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan.

Apart from Prime Minister Modi, other G7 leaders on Sunday also paid floral tribute at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, reported ANI. The PM was seen having a brief conversation with Australian PM Anthony Albanese as the invited countries were on their way to pay tributes to Hiroshima victims. Prime Minister Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Notably, India is not a part of the G7 nations but PM Modi is taking part in the summit at the invitation of Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.

Meanwhile, the third in-person Quad Summit held Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan, laid out an expansive agenda in a strong signal to China but again not explicitly naming the country in the leaders joint statement. All four leaders of the member countries vowed to take it to the next level from setting up an undersea cable, to critical supply chains and to countering terrorism.

The Quad Summit, which was earlier scheduled to take place in Australia, was held on the margins of the G7 meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the meeting that India will host the next in-person Quad Summit in 2024. The Summit venue changed to Japan due to US President Joe Biden’s change of itinerary as he had to be back home to attend debt crisis talks.

The Quad countries are the US, India, Japan and Australia.