PM Modi meets Abe in Japan; Set to hold talks with Trump, Putin and Xi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held talks on Thursday (June 27) during which they discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, the first meeting between the two leaders since the start of Japan’s Reiwa era.

The prime minster said that President Ram Nath Kovind will participate in the coronation ceremony of Emperor Naruhito in October.

Modi thanked Abe for his warm welcome to him and the Indian delegation visiting Japan for the G20 Summit. He also appreciated Japan’s leadership as the G-20 chairman.

“PM @narendramodi met Japanese PM @AbeShinzo ahead of the #G20Summit. Discussed broad range of topics of mutual interest. PM said that he was looking forward to visit of PM Abe to India later this year for the Annual Summit,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The Prime Minister congratulated Abe and Japan’s citizens for the start of the Reiwa era. The term for the new era is made up of the two characters Rei and Wa. Rei can mean “commands” or “order”, as well as “auspicious” or “good.”

Wa often means “harmony”, and is also used in the Japanese word for “peace” – “hei-wa.”

Earlier, Modi arrived in Japan for the G20 Summit during which he will attend important plurilateral meetings and meet with the world leaders including US President Donald Trump.

This will be Modi’s sixth G20 Summit which is being held at Osaka on June 28-29.

In his departure statement, he said that issues such as women empowerment, artificial intelligence and common efforts to address challenges like terrorism will be high on his agenda.

“The summit will provide an important opportunity to reiterate and reinforce our strong support to reformed multilateralism, which is crucial for preserving rule-based international order in today’s fast-changing world,” Modi said.

The summit, he said, will also be a platform for sharing India’s strong developmental experience of the last five years, which provided the basis for a resounding mandate by the people of India to the government to continue on the path of progress and stability.

He said the two-day Osaka summit will also be an important stepping stone for India towards hosting the G20 summit in 2022 “when we usher in a New India in the 75th anniversary year of our Independence”.

On the sidelines, Modi said, he “looks forward to engaging with leaders of our major partner countries on important issues of bilateral and global importance.” I also look forward to host the next Russia, India and China (RIC) Informal Summit on the sidelines, and also to participate in the next informal meetings of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and JAI (Japan, America and India) leaders,” he added.

Apart from Trump, Prime Minister Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders during the G20 Summit.