Megh Shah, Mumbai Uncensored, 12th July 2022:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi as always, had a busy schedule when he landed in Germany for the G7 Summit. As per the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, the PM held a total of 6 bilateral meetings in addition to the interactions between him and all leaders present at the Summit. The list includes:-
- Meeting with – Mr. Alberto Fernandez (President of Argentina)
Issues discussed – Cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, climate action, renewable energy, nuclear medicine, pharmaceuticals, electric mobility, defence cooperation, agriculture, food security, traditional medicine and coordination in global bodies.
- Meeting with – Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa (President of South Africa)
Issues discussed:-Deepening bilateral cooperation in areas like trade and investment, food security, defense, pharmaceuticals, digital financial inclusion, skill development, education, insurance, health, and people-to-people contacts. Welcoming the WTO agreement reached in June 2022 that supports the production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries (India and South Africa were the first countries to submit a proposal on waiver of Covid-19 vaccine patents. The two countries also discussed regarding India and South Africa’s permanent UNSC membership in a reformed UN.
- Meeting with – Olaf Scholtz (Chancellor of Germany)
Issues discussed:- The two leaders reviews the progress made in bilateral cooperation after PM Modi’s visit to Germany in May this year. Discussions covered issues like climate action, provision of climate financing and technology transfer. Both leaders also agreed on the need to further deepen trade, investment and people to people ties.
- Meeting with – Joke Widodo (President of Indonesia)
Issues discussed:– Increasing trade and investment between the two Asian countries. Discussions on Indonesia’s current and India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency.
- Meeting with – Ursula von der Leyen (President of European Commission)
Issues discussed:- The leaders expressed their delight at the resumption of negotiations between India and the EU on Trade, Investment, and GI Agreements. They examined India-EU collaboration in a variety of areas, including digital cooperation, climate action, and technology and innovation.
- Meeting with – Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada)
Issues discussed:- A productive meeting was held in which the leaders discussed India-Canada bilateral relations and agreed to further strengthen trade and economic linkages, cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, as well as people-to-people ties.