The ministry of external affairs (MEA) is working overtime to accommodate requests from a number of heads of governments to fix bilateral meetings of prime minister Narendra Modi with them during both the 9th East Asia Summit in Mayanmar as well as at G-20 Summit scheduled at Brisbane in Australia next week. Diplomatic sources here said slew of requests from various missions was pouring in as heads of their countries want to have a bilateral with Modi. "Almost everybody wants to interact with the Indian prime minister to know him and his ideas," said an official.
Official spokesperson Syed Akbarudin, while confirming that a number of requests have come, said preference was being given to heads of countries, Modi had not interacted or met before. With some leaders he may have a structured bilateral engagements, but due to paucity of time, with others he may just meet them along with one or two aides. While 18 countries will be participating in the East Asia Summit, 20 member countries and a host of European leaders will arrive to attend the G-20 Summit in Australia.
Modi has decided against attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Beijing on November 9-10 despite a personal invitation from Chinese president Xi Jinping. The Apec, a grouping of 21 Pacific Rim nations including the US, Japan, China and other littoral nations of Asia and South America, is emerging as a critical economic forum negotiating a key trans-Pacific trade pact that would bind these economies. He had to decline the invitation, as it would have entailed him to spend too much time abroad in the run up to the winter session of parliament. His aides decided to cut the Apec from his schedule, giving reasons that he had already met Chinese president and also visit to Beijing was not advisable. HadModi attended the Apec summit, he would have been away from India for 16 days.
India has already submitted a discussion paper for the G-20 meeting, expecting leaders to arrive at a conclusion to set up an automatic information mechanism to share banking information and cross country transactions in order to put an end to black money heavens and to detect tax evaders.
Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu, who has been appointed Modi's sherpa for the G-20 meeting told reporters here that another proposal related to cutting transfer charges of remittances sent by oversee workers to their homes. India is recipient of maximum remittances from abroad to the tone of 70 billion dollars annually. "There has been some understanding amongst countries to reduce money transfer charges to 5%. Saudi Arabia has agreed to reduce it to 3%," he said.
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