Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (May 21) arrived in Papua New Guinea where he received a warm welcome from Prime Minister James Marape who touched PM Modi’s feet to seek his blessings.
While the country normally doesn’t provide a ceremonial welcome for leaders arriving after sunset, a special exception has been made for PM Modi. He will be accorded a full ceremonial welcome. Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea will be the first ever by any Indian prime minister.
PM Modi will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22 jointly with his counterpart James Marape. Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his three-nation tour is the first ever by any Indian prime minister.
He arrived here from Japan where he attended the summit of the G7 advanced economies and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders. Modi and Marape will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on Monday.
“I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important summit (FIPIC),” Modi had said earlier.
FIPIC was launched during his visit to Fiji in 2014.
The FIPIC Summit will see participation from leaders of 14 countries. Normally all of them rarely converge together due to connectivity and other issues. PIC includes Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Modi will also hold bilateral talks with Marape and meet Bob Dadae, the Governor General of Papua New Guinea.