PM Modi accorded warm welcome by Indian community in Japan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded warm welcome by members of the Indian community in Japan on Thursday after he arrived here for the G20 Summit.

"Reached Osaka to join the #G20 Summit. Grateful to the dynamic Indian community for the warm welcome!" Modi tweeted.

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

He will attend important plurilateral meetings and meet with many world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

"PM @narendramodi greeted by excited and proud young members of the Indian community on his arrival at the hotel in Osaka," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

In his departure statement, Modi 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.