In Continuation to Mapping PM Modi’s Foreign Trips
Pakistan – December 2015: Pakistan declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore a “purely goodwill” one and said they agreed to understand each other’s concerns and continue holding peace talks for prosperity in the region. Briefing the media after Nawaz-Modi meeting at Jati Umrah residence of Sharifs, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said: “PM Modi’s visit to Lahore was not a planned one. It was organised on a short notice after Mr Modi expressed his wish to come here en route to Delhi from Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan – December 2015: Three months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a new Parliament building in Afghanistan, he had pushed to release more funds for the project, which had missed several deadlines. Accordingly, the Foreign Ministry started working to provide an extra Rs 500 crore towards the Afghan Parliament and Salma Dam — flagship projects of democracy and development in Afghanistan. Nudged by Modi himself, the Ministry of External Affairs in November circulated a Cabinet proposal to raise the outlay provision for the Parliament to Rs 969 crore from Rs 710 crore (approved in June 2014) with the assurance of timely completion before December 31.
Russia – December 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Russia on Wednesday for annual summit talks with President Vladimir Putin. India was looking at deeper engagement in Russia’s oil and coal sector besides stepping up cooperation in some other areas like diamond trade and agro-business. India is also likely to push for a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Zone and is sharing details of a study it conducted in this regard.
Singapore – November 2015: PM Modi addressed the Indian diaspora there on a two-day visit to Singapore. He said the government is laying thrust in generating power from clean and renewable sources like solar, nuclear, wind and biomass with the target of 175 gigawatts, and in turn, reduce dependence on coal.
Malaysia – November 2015: PM Modi visited Malaysia on a two-day visit and discussed with his counterpart Nazib Razak on ways to ramp up bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including defence and security and take the strategic ties to a new level. Combating terrorism was also one of the key issues. Modi also visited Ramakrishna mission and also inaugurated a statue of Swami Vivekananda.
United Kingdom – November 2015: PM Modi struck 27 deals in 3 days during his UK visit. From technology transfer in defence to going after the Lashkar-e-Toiba, from cyber security to tackling online child pornography — a new joint statement on defence and security has emerged as a major takeaway from the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart David Cameron.
Turkey – November 2015: In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, the G20 summit was all about the issue of terrorism. PM Modi made a case for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism — a demand he has been making at the international fora of late.
His main pitch was on the definition of terrorism, a point he made this week in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron by his side, when he said, “So, who do we designate as terrorists? Who helps the terrorists? In fact, there is a proposal in the United Nations on this issue, but unfortunately, it is just hanging without any settlement and the UK and we agree that we need to discuss this at length. That is why all well-meaning nations should work together. All those who help terrorists, in one way or the other, should be fought against and we all should work towards protecting humanity.”
United States – September 2015: PM addressed a summit on the agenda of Sustainable Developmental Goals at UN. He also attended a summit on peacekeeping forces hosted by Barack Obama. In San Jose, Modi attended a digital dinner with who’s who of the tech world. he also joined in for a Townhall Q&A hosted by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Ireland – September 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought Ireland’s support for India’s membership of UN Security Council and international export control regimes including NSG during wide ranging talks with his Irish counterpart which also covered global challenges like terror and radicalisation. During his nearly five-hour stopover en-route to the US, Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ireland in 59 years, held talks with his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny after which he hoped that Ireland’s visa policy will be sensitive to the requirements of India’s IT firms.
UAE – August 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates has scored big on three fronts – terror, trade and outreach to the blue-collared Indian expatriate community. While substance was evident in these three counts, his symbolic outreach to Muslims – in his maiden visit to an Islamic country – by visiting the Sheikh Zayed mosque and praising the inherent tenets of Islam was music to many.
Central Asia – July 2015: Modi was the first Indian PM to visit the five Central Asian nations in one trip. The focus during the trip will be on enhancing trade, cooperation in energy and security. PM visited Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Russia – July 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Russia to participate in the 7th BRICS summit and SCO summit in Ufa in a bid to give an impetus to strategic, economic and energy ties.
Bangladesh – June 2015: As India extended a $2 billion Line of Credit (LoC) to Bangladesh to develop its infrastructure and signed 22 agreements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi almost took a leaf out of former PM Manmohan Singh’s book to address Dhaka’s concerns on Teesta and trade imbalance. On the issue of trade imbalance, Modi said he was “conscious” of the huge trade imbalance and will do everything India can to bridge the deficit.
China – May 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked China to take advantage of the “winds of change” in India with a much more transparent, responsive and stable regulatory regime even as leading firms from the two sides signed deals worth USD 22 billion.
Mongolia – May 2015: India announced a credit line of USD 1 billion to Mongolia to expand its economic capacity and infrastructure, as they decided to upgrade their relationship from Comprehensive to “Strategic Partnership”. Narendra Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia, held wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg here following which the two sides inked 14 agreements covering defence, cyber security, agriculture, renewable energy and health sector.
South Korea – May 2015: India and South Korea seven agreements, including on avoidance of double taxation and formalising consultations between National Security Councils of the two nations, to boost bilateral ties.
France – April 2015: India asked France to supply 36 Rafale fighter jets in “fly-away” condition “as quickly as possible”. This is under a government-to-government deal, unlike the tender currently being negotiated by the Ministry of Defence with Dassault, Rafale’s manufacturer.
Germany – April 2015: PM Modi and Angela Merkel spoke in favour of a free trade agreement between the European Union and India. PM Modi said that this was important for the expansion of India as a manufacturing hub. The joint statement by both countries recognized the establishment of a working group on urban development. The two countries said stronger educational exchanges will be encouraged along with collaborations between universities.
Canada – April 2015: Modi became the first PM to arrive in Canada in a stand-alone bilateral visit in 42 years. Both countries signed an agreement for long-term supply of Uranium to India. Harper and Modi agreed to increase collaboration in the fields of energy efficiency, oil and gas development and renewable energy.
Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka – March 2015: PM Modi’s visit to the three island countries was against the backdrop of China’s increasing focus on the Indian Ocean region. Modi renewed India’s commitment to the ocean economies where India envisages its role as a net security provider. Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka was the first standalone Prime Ministerial visit to the island nation since 1987.
