- Friday, April 19, 2024
The Indian prime minister’s visit to the Japanese city for the key summit will be closely watched as India currently holds presidency of the G20 grouping.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (19) met members of the Indian diaspora after arriving in Hiroshima in Japan for the G7 summit. A popular figure with the Indian community overseas, Modi interacted with people and children as he reached the Sheraton Hotel in the Japanese city.
He is set to travel to Papua New Guinea and Australia from Japan.
Modi thanked the Indian diaspora on Twitter for giving him a “memorable welcome”. He also tweeted the same in Japanese language.
I am grateful to Hiroshima’s Indian community for a memorable welcome to the city. pic.twitter.com/gMPJPZInAU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023
In a video posted by Asian News International, a young girl could be seen saying about her meeting Modi, “PM Modi met us, and he said he was happy to meet us as well. He then gave us a handshake.”
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#WATCH | Japan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets children and interacts with the members of the Indian diaspora as he reaches Sheraton Hotel in Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/Gckl5Gfdau
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023
Another woman in the video said, “Of course, we’ve been living in the city for 10 years and have been waiting for the prime minister to visit Hiroshima. We are thrilled to welcome the prime minister”.
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#WATCH | Japan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the members of the Indian diaspora as he reaches Sheraton Hotel in Hiroshima.
"PM Modi met us, and he said he was happy to meet us too…." say young girls who met PM Modi outside Sheraton Hotel. pic.twitter.com/7rda8yqd65
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023
While Modi has been to Japan in the past, he is the first Indian prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to visit Hiroshima, a city that was devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945.
During the G7 summit for which Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida personally invited him to Hiroshima during his visit to India in March, Modi is scheduled to meet with a number of world leaders and hold bilateral meetings.
“I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I will also have bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the G7 Summit in Hiroshima,” Modi said in his departure statement.
“My presence in this G7 summit is especially significant given India’s G20 presidency this year.” “I look forward to exchanging perspectives with the G7 countries and other invited partners on global challenges and the need for collective action to address them,” he said.
Modi was welcomed by senior Japanese and Indian officials at the airport. At the summit, he is expected to speak on various global challenges, including those related to food and energy security.
Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/zQtSZUpd45
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023
While India is not a member of G7 which includes advanced economies such as the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and Italy besides Japan, its presence at the summit this year is being given weight since it currently the holds presidency of the G20 grouping.
