| Summary/Abstract |
India is standing at an exciting cusp of its political and economic development.
Its international clout has grown in proportion to its development. India prides
itself on its strategic autonomy and pursuance of multipolarity in foreign
affairs. Between May 19-24, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited
Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. He was invited to attend the G7
meeting, held in Hiroshima. Alongside it, he had bilateral meetings with Prime
Minister Fumio Kishido of Japan, and also attended a summit of the QUAD
together with President Joe Biden of USA, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
of Australia, and Prime Minister Kishido of Japan. From there he headed to
Papua New Guinea (PNG) - heralding India’s foray into the Pacific and
Oceania. In Australia, he had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Albanese.
Modi will be travelling to the US as a state guest of President Joe Biden, an
honour last accorded to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009. Later,
in July India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit
of heads of state – albeit in virtual format – as the 2023 Chair; thereafter, the
prime minister will travel to Paris to attend France’s Bastille Day as the Guest
of Honour. India will host the G20 summit in September. Later in the year the
Prime Minister will also be attending the BRICS summit meeting in South
Africa.
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