Live: PM Modi in London for CHOGM, to meet Theresa May and Queen, address diaspora

Narendra Modi’s attendance at CHOGM meet is a nuanced shift in the ways in which New Delhi views the 53-member Commonwealth, which has long been seen by policy-makers as a relic of the British Empire and an organisation steeped in colonial overtones.

india Updated: Apr 18, 2018 08:38 IST

PM Narendra Modi being greeted by UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson on his arrival at London.(PMO/Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in London early on Wednesday to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as he looks to enhance India’s role in multilateral organisations.

Modi is the is the first Indian prime minister to attend the meet in nearly a decade; former vice-president Hamid Ansari represented India in 2011 and 2015 while former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid attended the 2013 meeting.

The Prime Minister has a packed schedule for the day, which includes meeting his British counterpart Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth, signing of several MoUs, launching the Ayurvedic Center of Excellence, and a diaspora event at Central Hall Westminster.

Follow here for live updates:

8:30am: Modi’s engagements will begin with a handshake with British PM May, standing outside 10 Downing Street’s iconic door.

6:30am: PMO tweets of Modi ‘s arrival in London. The Prime Minister is greeted by foreign secretary Boris Johnson at the airport.