PM Modi Likely To Meet British counterpart Keir Starmer On Sidelines Of G20 Summit In Brazil This Month

The first meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer is likely on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Brazil later this month. The G20 begins on November 18 and both sides are working towards a meeting as they have never met before. The agenda too is under discussion, but this is a first meeting, with Starmer, a Labour Party leader, having just taken over as PM after the recent polls. Besides bilateral issues, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the West Asia situation could come up for discussion. Prime Minister Modi’s meetings with two of Starmer’s predecessors— Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak— had gone well. Both countries want stronger defence and economic ties. Whether the extradition of fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and also, Vijay Mallya comes up remains to be seen. Bilateral relations have improved considerably in recent years. Besides Starmer, a meeting with Luiz Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, is going to take place. President Lula is pushing strongly for poverty reduction and the protection of the Amazon forests.A meeting with new Indonesian leader Prabowo Subianto is also possible. The PM will be in Nigeria on his way to the G7 and will stop by in Guyana, a country with a large number of people of Indian origin, on his way back.