PM Modi to Meet Mauritius, Bangladesh PMs, African Union Chief before Meeting with Biden – News18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral meetings with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday, according to the Hindustan Times.

The meeting will be held before his meeting with US President Joe Biden who will travel to New Delhi on September 7.

Prime Minister Modi will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron and Comoros President Azali Assoumani who is the current chairperson of the African Union during the weekend, the Hindustan Times said in its report.

The Hindustan Times said that PM Modi insisted that the African Union be invited to the G20 summit because India is focusing on bolstering the economic growth and development of the Global South.

Several African nations have fallen into the Chinese debt trap as they gave Chinese companies major infrastructure projects like ports, railroads and highways.

The news report also pointed out that PM Modi took note of the effects of the pandemic on Africa and highlighted that it needed assistance from the G20 group of nations to recover from the effect it had on the economies of the African nations. He also noted that G20 needs to help African nations counter the political instability in several parts of the continent.

The meeting will focus on the war in Ukraine and the effects of climate change on our planet along with the main issue which is economic growth and development. However, the newspaper said that these two issues will be taken up for negotiations with equal importance being given to the phasing out of fossil fuels.

Development and prosperity of the Global South is an important issue for PM Modi as many nations from the South Pacific, Latin America and Africa feel New Delhi represents their aspiration at global and multilateral levels.

PM Modi raised the issues impacting the Global South during the BRICS Summit last month as well. “I am grateful to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for giving me the opportunity to share thoughts with the leaders of Africa, Asia and Latin America. We have focussed on the priorities and concerns of the countries of Global South,” PM Modi said at that time.

“This is also the core principle of our G20 presidency. To bring the concerns of the Global South into the mainstream, we have invited three African nations and several developing nations as guest countries. India has also put forward the proposal of giving permanent G20 membership to the African Union. I believe that BRICS and all friendly nations present today, can contribute to strengthening the multipolar world,” PM Modi further added.