After year of virtual summits amid pandemic, PM Modi to step out and embark on busy diplomatic calendar
Mar 03, 2021
New Delhi [India], March 3 : Now that the vaccination drive is in full force and COVID-19 restrictions are easing up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to follow a busy diplomatic calendar in the coming days.
The Prime Minister is expected to go to Bangladesh on March 25. He will be taking part in the centenary celebration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and holding discussion with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
This will be PM Modi's first foreign visit ever since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be in Dhaka tomorrow in the run-up to the PM's visit.
In April, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to visit India. He was supposed to be the chief guest at Republic Day, but due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the UK and the spread of a new strain, he cancelled his visit. There is no official announcement of his India visit yet, however, Boris Johnson had expressed keenness to visit India before G7.
On the expected visit of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a spokesperson of the British High Commission told ANI, "The Prime Minister hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK's G7 Summit in June."
In May, the India-EU leaders meet is expected to take place. PM Modi will be visiting Portugal to attend the meet.
India and the European Union are in deep discussions for years on the free trade agreement, post-COVID recovery of the economy and international terrorism, which are likely to be the focus of the visit.
In June, Prime Minister Modi will be attending the G7 summit. He has been invited by the UK and the venue of the summit will be Cornwall.
The G7 is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union.
