Modi meets Xi at Hangzhou

Prime Minster Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping for a bilateral meeting here on Sunday ahead of the G20 Summit.

"First engagement in Hangzhou is a meeting with the host. PM @narendramodi meets President Xi Jinping," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

This is their second bilateral meeting after the two leaders met in June on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO ).

Modi, who arrived here from his Vietnam trip Saturday, also attended the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - meet after his brief engagement with Xi.

However, the Prime Minister was unlikely to meet US President Barack Obama who met Xi on Saturday upon his arrival at Hangzhou.

The opening ceremony of the G20 will begin in the afternoon.

Climate finance, global structural reform, inclusive growth will be among the major issues raised by India.

It is to be seen if India will raise the South China Sea issue at the summit.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to meet Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based Correspondent for IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com, gauravians@yahoo.com)

--IANS

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