Modi in UK: Commonwealth event, multilateral meetings and more
Late on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in London to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), seeking to increase India's role in multilateral organizations. Attending the CHOGM is part of Modi's four-day UK visit which will see the Prime Minister engage in multiple bilateral and multilateral meetings. Here's more on the PM's packed schedule.
Modi, who was received by UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, has a packed schedule ahead of the CHOGM on 19th and 20th April. On Wednesday, Modi's full-day engagements include holding bilateral talks with the Theresa May government. Several memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed between the two governments. This is Modi's second official visit to the UK.
Modi's presence in the 25th CHOGM is also a significant political development. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to be attending the CHOGM in almost a decade, and his attendance marks a nuanced shift in India's attitude towards the 53-member Commonwealth, which has long been seen by Indian policy-makers as a relic of the erstwhile British Empire and its colonial legacy.
"Modi's government is beginning to take a new political interest...shaped through the lowering of the rhetoric of the Commonwealth as an institution with a colonial legacy and the raising of India's prospective leadership role," said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
It's expected that a MoU - on the framework and process of identifying and returning illegal Indians in the UK - which lapsed in 2014, is expected to be renewed. The All India Institute of Ayurveda will sign a MoU with the College of Medicine, UK. An India-UK tech alliance is also expected to be announced, comprising young, exceptional CEOs from the tech sector.
Modi's other engagements include a visit to the Science Museum to hold the 'Illuminating India' exhibition which will showcase India's historical and contemporary contributions to science, tech, and mathematics. The PM will also travel to Buckingham Palace to meet the 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth. Later on Wednesday evening, Modi will hold the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' diaspora event at the iconic Central Hall Westminster.
