Post swearing-in, Modi has packed international schedule

Post his swearing-in on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a tight schedule from June till August as he will be on foreign tours holding bilaterals back to back beginning Maldives, Bishkek and Osaka and in between even finding time for Budget deliberations in New Delhi.

In his first bilateral visit post assuming office for the second term, Modi is expected to travel to the Maldives on June 7-8, reports say.

The Prime Minister had visited Maldives in November 2018 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, after he defeated Abdulla Yameen in the presidential polls. This was followed by Solih's visit to India in December.

Following that Modi will be attending the annual summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek on June 13-14.

Next, the Prime Minister is likely to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in June. The summit will be held from June 28 to 29.

The two leaders had agreed to meet at the G-20 summit during Trump's congratulatory call to Modi on his Lok Sabha poll victory. The US leader had said that he sees "great things" for India-US relations after Modi's win.

The White House had said that Trump and Modi pledged to continue to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, building on the achievements of the last two years.

Modi had responded saying: "I too am looking forward to working closely with you for closer bilateral ties, which also augur well for global peace and prosperity."

He is again likely to meet the US President in September around the time of UN General Assembly session in New York.

Later, Modi is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in Russia. It will be held from September 4-6.

The Prime Minister will also be meeting leaders from the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) regional bloc who are invited to his inauguration ceremony.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, Modi will host Chinese President Xi Jinping in India later this year.

"During the first Informal Summit in Wuhan, Chinese President Xi had accepted the invitation of PM Modi to visit India for the next Informal Summit in 2019. The two sides are in touch, through diplomatic channels, to finalise the date and venue for the meeting," the Ministry said in a press statement.

Their informal summit is expected to take place on October 11 in Varanasi. The first informal summit between the two leaders took place in April 2018 in Wuhan, China.

--IANS

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