PM Modi Shares Hugs With Biden, Sunak During G7 Summit In Hiroshima — WATCH

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden in Japan’s Hiroshima on Saturday and shared a hug. Both leaders are taking part in the ongoing G7 summit.

Although India is not part of the G7 nations, it was after PM Kishida's invitation that Prime Minister Modi visited the country, where he met US President Joe Biden and British PM Rishi Sunak.

Source : ANI/@RishiSunak (Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden in Japan’s Hiroshima on Saturday and both leaders were seen sharing a hug amid the ongoing G7 summit. Although India is not part of the G7 nations, Prime Minister Modi is attending the summit on the invitation of his Japenese counterpart Kishida. Earlier in the day, PM Modi was also welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he arrived at the venue of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. In addition to the G7 summit, Biden will also participate in the third in-person Quad Leaders’ meeting in Hiroshima today with Australian PM Anthony Albanese, Japanese PM Kishida Fumio, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

PM Narendra Modi with other world leaders attended the Working Session 6 of the G7 Hiroshima Summit.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden share a hug as they meet in Hiroshima, Japan. pic.twitter.com/bbaYMo1jBL

— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2023

Before PM Modi's brief interaction with Biden, he met Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and discussed ways to enhance India-Japan friendship across different sectors including trade, economy, and culture when they meet earlier today.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida as he arrives at the venue of #G7Summit in Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/3E9h8pzdjB

— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2023

Later in the day, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and PM Narendra Modi also met and shared a hug on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 Summit in Japan. The UK PM shared an image of their meeting.

Meetings with allies and friends on Day 2 @G7 pic.twitter.com/3DlQ200l2C

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 20, 2023

Notably, US President’s meeting with PM Modi and other leaders comes days after Joe Biden postponed his trip to Australia and Papa New Guinea because of the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations in Washington. 

Ahead of the Quad meeting slated to take place today, Biden thanked Australian Prime Minister Albanese, as well as the Prime Ministers of Japan and India, for their flexibility, The White House said.

“Along with sharing strategic assessments, the leaders will welcome new forms of Quad cooperation on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building, and maritime domain awareness,” the White House said in a statement. 

US NSA Jake Sullivan said after Biden postponed his trip to Australia all the leaders were determined to get together in person.

"Outside of the G7, here in Hiroshima, the President will join the leaders of Australia, Japan and India for the third in-person Quad Summit...President had to postpone his trip to Australia but all of the leaders were determined to get together in person here...,” US NSA Jake Sullivan said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

On the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima and met the Indian diaspora here. The Prime Minister said that the world still shivers after hearing the name of Hiroshima.

"The bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima will take forward the idea of non-violence. It is a great moment for me to know that the Bodhi tree that I gifted to the Japanese PM has been planted here in Hiroshima so that people can understand the importance of peace when they come here. I pay my respect to Mahatma Gandhi," the PM said.

 He added that the bust of Mahatma Gandhi will take forward the idea of non-violence.