PM Narendra Modi (right) and UK prime Minister Theresa May in London. (Source: Narendra Modi/Twitter)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a four-day visit to the United Kingdom, arrived for the multilateral Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London on Thursday. He is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings, including with his counterparts from Bangladesh, Australia and the President of Seychelles, on the sidelines of the multilateral Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The bilateral talks are scheduled as the formal heads of government meeting gets underway in London today following the formal launch by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
Looking forward to strengthening India-UK relations during my visit to UK, which begins on 18th April. Sectors such as healthcare, innovation, digital technology and cyber security will be among the core focus areas during the visit. http://t.co/9RPXg3fRn3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 15, 2018
Yesterday PM Modi and his British counterpart Theresa May held talks on various issues like terrorism, visas and immigration. Both leaders also asserted the need to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. Modi later held an hour-long program with the Indian diaspora called ‘Bharat ki baat, sabke saath’, in which he took questions from people about various issues.
Highlights
PM Theresa May joined other Commonwealth leaders at Lancaster House for the first Executive Session. (Source: Theresa May/Twitter)
PM Narendra Modi met Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of CHOGM in London
Queen Elizabeth II today made her first direct intervention into a succession plan for the Commonwealth, indicating that she would like her son and heir, Prince Charles, to take over as the Head of the 53-member organisation.
Her intervention comes amid ongoing speculation over a successor to the monarch, with the post of Head of Commonwealth not being a hereditary one. Some experts have argued that it marks an opportunity for the organisation to distance itself from its colonial roots and appoint a non-royal to the role. Others, however, claim that it is the royal family that holds the grouping of former British colonies together. (PTI)
Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth, opened the summit for what may be the last time today.
In her opening speech for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Buckingham Palace in London, the 91-year-old monarch described the group as "growing stronger year by year" and the world's "great convening powers", which would benefit from the stability to be offered by the royal family.
"It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations – and will decide that one day the Prince of Wales will carry on the important work started by my father in 1949," the Queen said.
"By continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities I believe we will secure a prosperous and more sustainable world for those who follow us," she said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a mixed greeting as he landed in the United Kingdom Wednesday on a four-day visit. Anti-Modi protesters raised banners which read “Modi, you have blood on your hands” and “Modi Not Welcome”, reported news agency PTI.
On Wednesday, the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK alleged its delegates were not sent their tickets to attend the Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saathevent despite their attendance being confirmed. They had, ahead of the event, written a letter to Modi asking for “swift justice and extraordinary measures” to ensure justice in the rape cases. They claimed they were “pressured” to retract their statement as well. Read here
The bilateral talks are scheduled as the formal heads of government meeting gets underway in London today following the formal launch by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
"Over many years you have been the Commonwealth's most steadfast and fervent champion. You have been true to the deepest values of the Commonwealth?… we commit to sustaining this Commonwealth, which you have so carefully nurtured," British Prime Minister Theresa May said in reference to the Queen at her opening address.The 91-year-old monarch, as the Head of the Commonwealth, will host a dinner for all 53 heads of government at the palace later in the evening today. (PTI)
Some of the other world leaders expected to have one-on-one deliberations with the prime minister Modi during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) include Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness.