modi visit png

South Asia Brief: Modi Visits Papua New Guinea as Biden Skips

Create an FP account to save articles to read later and in the FP mobile app.

ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN

World Brief

• Editors’ Picks
• Africa Brief

China Brief

• Latin America Brief

South Asia Brief

Situation report.

• Flash Points
• War in Ukraine
• Israel and Hamas
• U.S.-China competition
• Biden's foreign policy
• Trade and economics
• Artificial intelligence
• Asia & the Pacific
• Middle East & Africa

Inside the GOP’s Foreign Policy

Ones and tooze, foreign policy live.

Spring 2024 Issue

Print Archive

FP Analytics

• In-depth Special Reports
• Issue Briefs
• Power Maps and Interactive Microsites
• FP Simulations & PeaceGames
• Graphics Database

The Atlantic & Pacific Forum

Principles of humanity under pressure, fp global health forum 2024, fp @ unga79.

By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.

Your guide to the most important world stories of the day

Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent

The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week

Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy

Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day

One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture

Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors

A curated selection of our very best long reads

Modi Visits Papua New Guinea as Biden Skips

Amid a flurry of diplomacy, the trip gave india a chance to advance key foreign-policy goals..

• Foreign & Public Diplomacy
• Michael Kugelman

Welcome to  Foreign Policy ’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Papua New Guinea for a summit with Pacific Island nations, resignations mount within former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party , and the Taliban appoint a new prime minister.

Sign up to receive South Asia Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.

Modi Makes a Play in the Pacific

It’s been a busy period for India on the world stage. Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Japan for the annual G-7 summit and a meeting of the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (known as the Quad). This week, Modi visited Australia, one of India’s closest partners and a Quad member. India also hosted a G-20 summit on tourism in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Amid all this diplomacy, one event received less attention: Modi’s trip to Papua New Guinea this week, the first time an Indian prime minister had visited the country. There, Modi cohosted a summit with Pacific Island nations. U.S. President Joe Biden was scheduled to be in Papua New Guinea at the same time but canceled due to the ongoing domestic budget crisis and sent U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his place.

From New Delhi’s perspective, Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea made good sense. Strengthening relations with the country can help advance three key Indian foreign-policy goals: acting as a bridge to the global south, countering China in the Indo-Pacific region, and showcasing its rising global clout by expanding its footprint beyond its backyard.

Since its days as a founding leader of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War, India has positioned itself as a champion of developing-world causes. More recently, its growing economic and military power has enabled it to deepen ties with developed states. It aims to straddle both worlds, using its influence to address global challenges that disproportionately affect the global south, from climate change to debt. India’s G-20 presidency this year gives it a powerful platform to do so.

Likewise, Modi’s visit to Port Moresby offered useful opportunities. He engaged with leaders from Papua New Guinea and 13 other Pacific Island nations, each acutely vulnerable to climate change and could benefit from Indian investments in clean energy. (Leaders from Australia and New Zealand also attended.) Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape endorsed India’s influence: On Monday, he described Modi as the leader of the global south and called on him to fight for the causes of Papua New Guinea and other island states.

Modi’s outreach in Papua New Guinea also gives India another chance to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing is deepening economic influence in Pacific Island states through its Belt and Road Initiative , and in 2022 it inked a security partnership with the Solomon Islands. These are troubling developments for India and other members of the Quad, given the proximity of these activities to Australia.

Although India doesn’t seek to give the impression that it’s competing with the United States, closer Indian engagement with Papua New Guinea can offer a complement to Washington’s deepening security collaborations with Port Moresby, which include a security pact concluded this week with Blinken in town. Some Papua New Guineans fear the deal will increase the country’s dependence on the United States—at the cost of some development assistance it receives from China.

Modi’s visit to Port Moresby also telegraphs India’s desire to extend its influence beyond its own neighborhood—and further into the Pacific part of the Indo-Pacific region. It has already grown its footprint in Southeast Asia through activities with the Quad and in the Middle East through its minilateral arrangement with Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. In the case of Papua New Guinea, it can pitch its prowess as a bilateral donor and net goods provider.

The Pacific Island states aren’t becoming a core focus of India’s strategic orientation, especially given New Delhi’s heightened concerns about the challenge from Beijing on its northern border. But Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea dovetails nicely with India’s broader foreign-policy goals; it deserves to be seen as more than a footnote to a busy week of high-level diplomacy.

What We’re Following

Resignations mount in Khan’s party. In recent days, more than two dozen leaders of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party—led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan—have resigned . The biggest news came on Tuesday, when Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister in Khan’s government and one of the party’s most senior figures, said she was quitting not just the party, but also retiring from politics. Another top leader, Fawad Chaudhry, resigned on Wednesday.

It’s clear the resignations are taking place under pressure. Mazari, who is in poor health, has been in and out of jail in recent days. She and other PTI leaders have been held on charges related to their alleged role in violent protests following Khan’s brief arrest on May 9. PTI leaders insist the party wasn’t involved in the protests, which included attacks on a corps commander’s home in Lahore and on the military headquarters in Rawalpindi. The PTI has alleged that some violent protesters were Pakistani intelligence agents who were seeking to frame the opposition party.

Last week, the military announced it plans to use military courts to prosecute those charged in the May 9 violence. These developments, alongside the flurry of resignations of PTI leaders, suggest that Islamabad is intent on sidelining the opposition party—if not eliminating it. On Wednesday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters that the government was considering a complete ban on the party; such a move would likely face challenges in the courts.

Ultimately, PTI revolves around Khan, and if he were jailed again for an extended period, it could have a devastating impact on the party. The government’s plan may also be to ensure that other top leaders can’t step in to replace him.

The Taliban’s new prime minister. Last week, the Taliban confirmed the appointment of a new Afghan prime minister: Maulvi Abdul Kabir. Kabir replaces Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who had served in the role since September 2021, shortly after the group seized power in Kabul. Taliban officials said the move is temporary and that Akhund, who has been unwell, will return to the role once he is healthy again.

The decision is nonetheless striking, given that the Taliban’s high-level personnel have remained relatively unchanged since the group took power. This suggests Kabir’s appointment could be about more than holding down the fort until Akhund’s health improves. Kabir has long been a key Taliban figure , holding senior posts during the previous regime in the 1990s and serving in military commander roles . He was involved in the negotiations with the United States that resulted in the 2020 Doha agreement.

Most importantly, Kabir is believed to hold influence with the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who reportedly ordered his appointment. Given reports of a rift between the Taliban’s political leaders in Kabul and the ideological leadership in Kandahar, Akhundzada may have wanted to ensure that a close ally was managing affairs in Kabul.

Read more : Javid Ahmad and Douglas London argue in Foreign Policy that to achieve its objectives in the region, the United States should diplomatically recognize the Taliban government.

Notable absences in Kashmir. India hosted a G-20 meeting in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, this week. As this year’s G-20 president, New Delhi used the event to showcase tourism opportunities in India—as well as to project to the world that Kashmir has achieved stability after its special autonomous status was revoked in 2019. Despite the attempt to convey a sense of normalcy, Kashmir remains restive, with a large security presence and relentless state crackdowns on dissent.

For its backers, the G-20 event was a resounding success, with 29 countries represented. But critics may point to three G-20 countries that sat the event out : China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. (Egypt was another no-show .) China disagrees with India on the issue of Kashmir and said it wouldn’t attend an event in disputed territory. The absence of Saudi Arabia and Egypt was more surprising, as the countries are two of India’s closest friends in the Middle East.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was Modi’s chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade this year, and relations between New Delhi and Riyadh have grown rapidly in recent years, in large part because of stepped-up energy cooperation.

Read more : In Foreign Policy , David Lepeska writes that the G-20 summit in Srinagar suggests that the government wants to turn the region into a tourist hotspot—perhaps at the expense of Kashmiris.

FP’s Most Read This Week

• Russia’s Convict-Soldiers Have Their Own Brutal Rules by Kristaps Andrejsons
• Russia Is Already Looking Beyond Ukraine by Robbie Gramer and Jack Detsch
• Why Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’ Has Egypt up in Arms by Sara Khorshid

Under the Radar

Bangladesh is struggling to pay for fuel imports due to a shortage of U.S. dollars, according to a Reuters investigation that reviewed recent correspondence between the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and the country’s power ministry. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, which controls fuel imports, owes more than $300 million amid an “alarming decrease in fuel reserves.”

An April letter indicated that top fuel suppliers, including Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian companies, were starting to reduce fuel shipments and threatening to suspend them altogether because they weren’t getting paid.

This is a worrisome development for Bangladesh, both for energy security and political stability. Last year, Dhaka ordered the closure of diesel-run power plants to bring down energy costs. The move led to serious power outages last fall—and it clearly didn’t solve the import payment crisis. (Bangladesh suffered further outages last month during a heat wave.)

Dhaka has trumpeted its economic success in recent years and highlighted a recent financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund as preventative. But if Bangladesh can’t pay for critical fuel imports, it suggests that its economic stress is more severe than the government has let on—creating a dilemma for the ruling Awami League party ahead of national elections next year.

Michael Kugelman is the writer of Foreign Policy ’s weekly South Asia Brief. He is the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. Twitter:  @michaelkugelman

Join the Conversation

Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.

Already a subscriber? Log In .

Subscribe Subscribe

View Comments

Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.

Not your account? Log out

Please follow our comment guidelines , stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

Change your username:

I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines . (Required)

Confirm your username to get started.

The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language.

Sign up for Editors' Picks

A curated selection of fp’s must-read stories..

You’re on the list! More ways to stay updated on global news:

Recent Coverage

The world’s biggest election is set to begin, why modi is so popular, how pakistan plays into india’s elections, 4 books to understand modern india, 5 charts that explain india, editors’ picks.

• 1 What the Ever Given Taught the World
• 2 Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships
• 3 Iran’s Nuclear Crisis Has No Military Solution
• 4 Iran Shrugs off Israeli Strike, Allaying Escalation Fears—for Now
• 5 Arab Countries Have Israel’s Back—for Their Own Sake
• 6 Why Arab States Haven’t Broken With Israel

Israeli Strike on Iran: Isfahan Targeted in Limited Attack

Web summit rio: latin american tech start-ups pitch to investors, why arab states haven’t broken with israel, forget about chips—china is coming for ships, christchurch shootings and domestic far-right terrorism's international reach, more from foreign policy, israel is facing an iraq-like quagmire.

Six months in, there’s still no plan for after the war, U.S. officials say.

NATO Doesn’t Have Enough Troops

For the first time in decades, NATO has a plan to fight Russia. Now it just needs the forces to do it.

Biden’s ‘Coalitions of the Willing’ Foreign-Policy Doctrine

The latest flurry of U.S. diplomacy shows how the president is all about “minilateralism.”

The New Idea of India

Narendra Modi’s reign is producing a less liberal but more assured nation.

Iran Shrugs off Israeli Strike, Allaying Escalation Fears—for Now

What the ever given taught the world, iran has defined its red line with israel, latin american start-ups make their pitch, the terrorist threat the west still ignores.

Sign up for World Brief

FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day, written by Alexandra Sharp . Delivered weekdays.

• Business Today
• India Today
• India Today Gaming
• Cosmopolitan
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Aajtak Campus

• Magazine Cover Story Editor's Note Deep Dive Interview The Buzz
• BT TV Market Today Easynomics Drive Today BT Explainer
• Market Today Trending Stocks Indices Stocks List Stocks News Share Market News IPO Corner
• Tech Today Unbox Today Authen Tech Tech Deck Tech Shorts
• Money Today Tax Investment Insurance Tools & Calculator
• Mutual Funds
• Industry Banking IT Auto Energy Commodities Pharma Real Estate Telecom
• Visual Stories

INDICES ANALYSIS

Mutual funds.

• Cover Story
• Editor's Note
• Market Today
• Drive Today
• BT Explainer
• Trending Stocks
• Stocks List
• Stocks News
• Share Market News
• Unbox Today
• Authen Tech
• Tech Shorts
• Tools & Calculator
• Commodities
• Real Estate
• Election with BT
• Economic Indicators
• BT-TR GCC Listing

Watch: Papua New Guinea PM shares a hug, then touches PM Modi's feet on his arrival

This is pm modi's first tour to png and also the first-ever visit by any indian prime minister to the indo-pacific country..

• Updated May 21, 2023, 6:55 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on Sunday, received a warm welcome from PNG Prime Minister James Marape. Welcoming PM Modi at the Port Moresby airport, Marape touched PM Modi's feet on his arrival.

In a video being shared on social media platforms, Papua New Guinea PM can be seen giving a hug to PM Modi and then touching his feet. It must be noted that this is PM Modi's first tour to PNG and also the first-ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister to the Indo-Pacific country.

#WATCH | Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape seeks blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon latter's arrival in Papua New Guinea. pic.twitter.com/gteYoE9QOm — ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2023

In PNG, 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.

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, the 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.

(With PTI inputs)

Also Read:  PM Modi, Rishi Sunak review India-UK FTA progress; to deepen cooperation on trade and investment

• #James Marape
• #Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• #Narendra Modi in Papua New Guinea
• #Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation

TOP STORIES

• Advertise with us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• Press Releases

Copyright©2024 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today

Add Business Today to Home Screen

The Straits Times

• International
• Print Edition
• news with benefits
• SPH Rewards
• STClassifieds
• Berita Harian
• Hardwarezone
• Shin Min Daily News
• Tamil Murasu
• The Business Times
• The New Paper
• Lianhe Zaobao
• Advertise with us

PM Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea ‘groundbreaking’ for India’s engagement with Pacific island nations

NEW DELHI - When Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Port Moresby on Sunday, he will signal a seminal shift in India’s relationship with Papua New Guinea (PNG), as well as other island countries in Oceania.

This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to PNG, where Mr Modi will co-host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), marking India’s growing importance for these Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and its willingness to help them meet some of their key development needs.

Already a subscriber?  Log in

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

ST One Digital

$9.90   $9.90/month.

No contract

ST app access on 1 mobile device

Subscribe now

Unlock these benefits

All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

• Asia-Pacific
• Papua New Guinea

Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards

Spin the wheel now

• India Today
• Business Today
• Reader’s Digest
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Cosmopolitan
• Aaj Tak Campus
• India Today Hindi

PM Modi receives warm welcome in Papua New Guinea as counterpart touches his feet | Watch

Prime minister narendra modi received a warm welcome in papua new guinea with pm james marape touching his feet. the two then hugged each other..

Listen to Story

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Papua New Guinea on Sunday, as part of the second leg of his three-nation tour. He was warmly welcomed upon arrival in the country, as PM James Marape touched his feet.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Papua New Guinea for the second leg of his three-nation visit after concluding his visit to Japan. He was received by Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape. pic.twitter.com/U94yUQ2aCl — ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2023

His visit to Papua New Guinea is the first ever by any Indian prime minister. "After a successful visit to Japan, PM @narendramodi emplanes for Papua New Guinea, for the second leg of his three-nation tour," the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.

Also Read: 'I should take your autograph': Biden on PM Modi's popularity in the US

The Indian community in Papua New Guinea came in large numbers and showed remarkable affection. Thankful to them for the memorable welcome. pic.twitter.com/K1BT4RGe7B — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2023

PM Modi had left for the country on Sunday after concluding his visit to Japan for the summit of the G7 advanced economies.

In Papua New Guinea, he will host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on Monday jointly with counterpart James Marape. "I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important summit (FIPIC)," Modi had said earlier.

• Firstpost Defence Summit
• Entertainment
• Web Stories
• Health Supplement
• First Sports
• Fast and Factual
• Between The Lines
• Firstpost America

PM Modi in Papua New Guinea: Why the island country matters

Narendra Modi is in Papua New Guinea where he’s hosting the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation meet. The island country’s Prime Minister James Marape touched Modi’s feet as he greeted him at the airport on Sunday. But what do we know about the area and its significance to New Delhi?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a busy, busy man. After his visit to Japan’s Hiroshima for the G-7 meet where he rubbed shoulders with world leaders and US president Joe Biden jokingly asked him for his autograph, the Indian prime minister made his way to Papua New Guinea for the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), a grouping of India and 14 Pacific Island countries.

Modi has been a popular and well-liked world leader and that was evident once again on Sunday when he was greeted at the airport by his counterpart James Marape, who in a surprise move touched his fee t. Notably, Papua New Guinea doesn’t usually give a ceremonial welcome for any leader visiting the country after sunset.

This is Modi’s first time to Papua New Guinea as well as the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the island.

On Monday morning, Modi held talks with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape and the island nation’s Governor-General Bob Dadae separately on a range of issues, including strengthening partnerships in multiple sectors, climate action as well as promoting people-to-people ties.

As Modi continues his outreach to Pacific Island countries, let’s take a closer look at Papua New Guinea and why the visit is significant.

About Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea stretches from just south of the equator to the Torres Strait, which separates New Guinea from Cape York Peninsula to the south, the northernmost extension of Australia. It is the world’s third largest island country, with an area of 4,62,840 square kilometres – somewhat smaller than Spain, or slightly larger than California.

After being ruled by external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea established sovereignty in 1975 and became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.

It is said that the first European visitor may have been Jorge de Meneses, who possibly landed on the island in 1526–27 while en route to the Moluccas. The first European attempt at colonisation was made in 1793 by Lieutenant John Hayes, a British naval officer, near Manokwari, now in Papua province, Indonesia.

Today, Papua New Guinea is one of the most unexplored countries on the planet; however, it offers stunning scenery, making a must-see for nature lovers. The island country is one of 17 “mega-diverse” countries globally. It contains the world’s third largest rainforest, more than 700 bird species, and 45,000km of coral reefs. But travelling to this place isn’t the easiest and it continues to be a land where modern luxuries like electricity and running water are still not readily available to all.

Papua New Guinea is linguistically one of the most diverse nations in the world. There are over 852 distinct languages spoken, and each of these communities has distinct ethnic groups with their own cultures and customs.

With 600 islands and terrain that is geographically isolated by volcanoes and mountains, many communities have evolved in total isolation from each other and share few similarities. The bulk of these communities are thousands of years old and have survived colonisation and other significant pressures to maintain their traditional cultures and languages – a testament to the huge resilience and tenacity of these communities.

According to the 2011 census, the island country was home to 7.2 million people – where majority of them practice Christianity. Interestingly, the majority of the country’s population still lives in rural areas.

When it comes to the economy of the country, agricultural production, most of it from subsistence farming, accounts for about one-third of the country’s gross domestic product. In the 1970s, major mineral discoveries transformed the economy of Papua New Guinea from one dependent on tropical crops to one based on minerals for most of its exports. Today, petroleum gas, copper and gold are most exported from Papua New Guinea.

India and Papua New Guinea

India has diplomatic ties with Papua New Guinea since 1975 when the island attained independence from Australia. India’s mission in Papua New Guinea was opened at Port Moresby in 1996 whereas Papua New Guinea opened its mission in Delhi in 2006.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, there are about 3,000 Indians in PNG, out of which about 2,000 are working at projects in LNG sector. Others include chartered accountants, university professors, school teachers, doctors, IT and finance professionals, etc.

Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), a grouping of India and 14 Pacific Island countries. FIPIC as a grouping began in 2014 in Fiji, with New Delhi aiming to establish a presence in the Pacific Island countries. The second such meet was held in 2015 in India’s Jaipur.

In the third edition of the meet, Modi said that India believes in multilateralism and supports a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Speaking at the forum, he said, the Pacific island nations are “large ocean countries and not small island states”. According to an ANI news report, Modi stated: “India is proud to be your development partner. You can count on India as a reliable partner. We are ready to share our experiences and capabilities with you without hesitation. We believe in multilateralism and support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.”

The FIPIC comes at a crucial time. New Delhi is attempting to counter China’s growing footprint in the Pacific. As retired navy chief Arun Prakash told VOA , “These places are very strategic if you want to make a naval base or a friendly port or friendly airstrip and they also have vast ocean resources. The main worry for Western countries and India is that several of these countries are a void and China tends to walk into voids and fill them up.”

China has been extending its footprint in the region through its Belt and Road initiative ; in 2022, Beijing signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands and in March it won a contract to redevelop the port in its capital city, Honiara.

Moreover, Papua New Guinea has been showing a tilt towards China – a very big concern for the Quad countries of Australia, India, the US and Japan. In November 2022, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape met China’s Xi Jinping in Bangkok in which Beijing said both countries are “good friends, good partners and good brothers”. Marape has also been invited by the Chinese to visit Beijing for a ‘State Visit’ and the invitation was extended to him by China’s special envoy to the Pacific Qian Bo last month.

The hope is that Modi’s visit will be able to redirect Papua New Guinea’s attention and also establish New Delhi as an emerging global power.

However, some analysts believe that India’s bid to build influence in the Pacific Island countries will be limited as it can’t match China’s resources. “If you call yourself an Indo-Pacific power and are part of the Quad grouping, you must make some outreach to the Pacific also. But whether it is within our capabilities to sustain ourselves that far out in the Pacific is a question mark. We don’t have such deep pockets and our navy is also relatively small,” Prakash told VOA News .

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

Find us on YouTube

Related Stories

PM Modi chairs council of ministers meet, deliberates on 'Viksit Bharat 2047' vision

Eager to serve my family for 3rd time in Kashi: PM Modi after BJP announces his nomination from Varanasi

PM Modi writes to Bangladesh counterpart, expresses grief after fire kills dozens in Dhaka

Lok Sabha polls 2024: BJP releases first list of candidates, PM Modi to contest from UP's Varanasi

World leaders are flocking to Papua New Guinea. Here’s why

Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland

Disclosure statement

Ian Kemish is a former High Commissioner to PNG. He chairs the Kokoda Track Foundation and is the Pacific representative of the Global Partnership for Education, both of which receive funding from The Australian Government. He is affiliated with the ANU National Security College and the Griffith Asia Institute in addition to his adjunct position at the University of Queensland. He advises a range of companies on PNG and the Pacific.

University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

View all partners

Papua New Guinea has been in the international spotlight over the past week, hosting a remarkable series of visits by foreign leaders and senior representatives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India received an enthusiastic welcome on Monday when he arrived in Port Moresby for the first visit by an Indian head of government and to meet with 14 visiting leaders of the Pacific Island Forum countries and territories. PNG Prime Minister James Marape stooped to touch Modi’s feet on arrival, welcoming him as the “leader of the Global South”.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Port Moresby at the start of the week. Blinken was standing in for US President Joe Biden, whose much-anticipated stopover in the country was cancelled , along with his planned subsequent visit to Australia, because of the crisis in the US Congress over the federal debt ceiling.

Blinken signed two important agreements with PNG during his visit: a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and an Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations.

While in Port Moresby, Blinken also convened the latest in a series of high-level meetings between the US and Pacific leaders . New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkens and Australian Senator Pat Conroy were also present.

These two visits were only part of a broader, substantial uptick in external engagement in PNG. In April, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited the country , signing a defence framework agreement. It’s understood Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be there in June.

France has also recently signed a status of forces agreement with PNG. Meanwhile, Australia is negotiating a security treaty that is expected to substantially upgrade its longstanding defence cooperation agreement.

This activity all reflects the increasing importance of the Pacific Island countries in the strategic calculations of the democratic powers amid growing Chinese influence and heightened US-China tensions in the region. This is particularly true of PNG. It’s the largest nation in the region by far, located only a few kilometres from Australia, near the intersection point between Asia and the Pacific.

Read more: China's push into PNG has been surprisingly slow and ineffective. Why has Beijing found the going so tough?

Amid all the colour and movement in Port Moresby this week, at least two important shifts were detectable in the dynamics of the region.

The Modi visit provided the clearest signal yet of India’s intention to join longstanding regional partners in demonstrating to the Pacific the value of prioritising engagement with the democratic world. With its inspirational development narrative, major power status and cultural links to the region, India could play an important role if it follows up with substantive collaboration with the region on climate change, security and sustainable development.

The updated defence arrangements between PNG and the United States, combined with the now-established pattern of senior US-Pacific political dialogue, recent growth in regional US development support and the upgrading of its regional diplomatic network , provide some corroboration that a long-promised American recommitment to the Pacific is finally under way.

Biden’s planned visit would have sealed this message symbolically – it would have been the first ever to a Pacific Island country. Its cancellation was undoubtedly a setback, but its impact should not be overstated given the practical displays of US commitment.

The text of the DCA will not be officially released until it is formally adopted into US law. However, the signatories have indicated that it updates an old status of forces agreement and aims to strengthen PNG Defence Force capabilities, including in humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and will allow for increased joint military training.

A draft leaked to the PNG media before the Blinken visit suggested the US might have substantial access to PNG facilities.

The maritime arrangement will allow the US Coast Guard to support surveillance in PNG’s exclusive economic zone and help combat illicit transnational activity through joint sea operations.

Students at several PNG universities protested against what they saw as a lack of transparency about the defence agreement. They expressed fears it compromised the country’s independence by bringing it more firmly into the US sphere of control. Some opposition political figures spoke of the risk of angering China and thus inviting potentially harmful repercussions for PNG’s economic security.

But Marape and his government stood their ground . Marape argued the agreement had “nothing to do with China” and PNG’s sovereignty remained intact. He also pointed to his government’s “healthy” relationship with Beijing and China’s status as an important trading partner for PNG. He has firmly rejected accusations that the arrangements for visiting US military personnel would violate PNG law.

Read more: Biden's cancelled Australia-PNG trip was a missed opportunity – but a US debt crisis would hurt a lot more

PNG will nonetheless remain committed to its “friends to all, enemies to none” foreign policy approach. It will continue to leverage its growing array of relationships for its economic development.

In recent years, PNG’s leaders have joined others from the Pacific in expressing impatience with the strategic rivalry between their external partners and alarm at signs of greater militarisation in the region. India’s refusal to align itself firmly with one side or another in the geostrategic contest will be seen by many in the region as a model.

While Chinese investment and development support for PNG actually remains very limited compared to that of Australia, it looms large as a trading partner. Chinese state-owned enterprises are now heavily engaged in PNG , particularly its construction sector.

It is also clear that Australia’s partners have come to understand they cannot leave it to Australia alone to carry the democratic standard in the Pacific. While Modi’s decision not to invite Australia and New Zealand to the formal component of the India-Pacific meeting (they were invited to a lunch) raised eyebrows, it may actually have been quite useful.

If the objective is for India to step forward into a substantive and positive regional role, then it probably helps that the symbolism of the India-Pacific meeting was not diluted by “traditional” partners detailing their own familiar cooperative efforts with the region.

If Australia wants others to share the load in the Pacific, it doesn’t follow that it always has to be involved. Australian government strategists likely think this has been a good week in PNG.

• Papua New Guinea
• Pacific Islands
• Narendra Modi
• Antony Blinken

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

Senior Disability Services Advisor

Deputy Social Media Producer

Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy

GRAINS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CHAIRPERSON

Program: Pacific Beat

What does Indian PM Modi's upcoming visit to PNG mean for India-Pacific relations?

• X (formerly Twitter)

On the program today:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make his inaugural visit to PNG this year, in a move expected to deepen India's ties with the Pacific. 

Dr Tammy Tabe is documenting the experiences of i-Kiribati people forced to migrate to Solomon Islands, to shed light on what climate change relocation might hold.

A mass burial is planned in Port Moresby after its hospital morgue was found overflowing in a video that went viral online.

Around the world frogs are dying because of a deadly fungus, except in Solomon Islands and PNG. But experts say there is still an urgent need to protect native frog species.

Climate protest group Extinction Rebellion is moving away from more radical methods in the hope of  building more public support.

And, as the world watches China's COVID surge, a new Omicron sub-variant is sweeping through the United States. 

• Prianka Srinivasan, Presenter

In this episode

India looks to strengthen Pacific partnerships in inaugural visit by prime minister Modi

Mass burial planned in PNG after bodies found decaying outside hospital

• International
• Today’s Paper
• Premium Stories
• Express Shorts
• Lok Sabha polls Live
• JAC 10th Result
• Board Exam Results

Papua New Guinea’s PM touches Modi’s feet: Why this island country is important for India

Modi is the first indian pm to visit the country. papua new guinea generally doesn’t give a ceremonial welcome to any leader coming after sunset, but an exception was made for modi..

In what is being seen as an oblique reference to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday told leaders of 14 Pacific Island nations on Monday that India would be a “reliable” development partner , even though those considered trustworthy were “not standing by our sides in times of need”.

Speaking at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Modi said, “Those we considered trustworthy, it turned out they were not standing by our side in times of need. During these challenging times, an old saying has proven true: ‘A Friend in need is a friend indeed’. I am glad that India stood with its Pacific island friends during this challenging time [the Covid pandemic]. Whether it was vaccines or essential medicines, wheat or sugar; India, in line with its capabilities, has been assisting all partner countries,” reported PTI.

Earlier on Sunday, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, while welcoming PM Modi, bent down to touch his feet , in a move that attracted significant attention. Modi is the first Indian PM to visit the country. PTI reported that normally, Papua New Guinea doesn’t give a ceremonial welcome to any leader coming after sunset, but an exception was made for Modi.

Why is Papua New Guinea important for India?

Strategic location

Papua New Guinea is located north of Australia, a region where China is trying to expand its influence and Australia and the US are seeking to counter it. China has made large investments in Papua New Guinea, funding infrastructure and schools, in what many believe is an attempt to gain military and diplomatic leverage. Last year, China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands, located in the same region. On Monday, the US and Papua New Guinea signed a security agreement, prompting protests from island residents who oppose ‘militarisation’ of the Pacific.

India is also trying to boost ties and cooperation with the Pacific Island nations, which include, apart from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The FIPIC summit and PM Modi’s recent visit to Fiji and Papua New Guinea was in line with that. The FIPIC summit was launched during Modi’s visit to Fiji in 2014. In 2015, the second FIPIC summit was held in Jaipur. This is the third summit.

Population, economy

Papua New Guinea is the world’s third largest island nation, a lower middle-income country with a predominantly rural population. It is lingustically one of the most diverse nations of then world, with more than 800 languages spoken.

• Nestlé's baby food sold in Asian, African countries had added sugars: Why is sugar harmful?
• Cost and benefit: Israel’s very expensive defence against aerial threats
• Anti-Maoist operations status report: What is the significance of Apr 16 encounter?

It has a population of 9,819,350, according to an estimate by CIA’s The World Factbook. Many indigenous communities live in Papua New Guinea, surviving on subsistence agriculture and keeping little contact with the outside world.

Since the 1880s, parts of the country have been ruled by Germany, Australia, and Britain, till the independent nation was born on September 16, 1975.

According to the World Factbook, “the word “papua” derives from the Malay “papuah” describing the frizzy hair of the Melanesians; Spanish explorer Ynigo ORTIZ de RETEZ applied the term “Nueva Guinea” to the island of New Guinea in 1545 after noting the resemblance of the locals to the peoples of the Guinea coast of Africa.”

Papua New Guinea is part of the Commonwealth, and England’s King Charles III is its official King. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General, who is nominated by the Parliament. The Prime Minister is democratically elected. While James Marape is the current Prime Minister, the Governor-General is Bob Dadae, whom PM Modi also met on his recent visit.

Is there hope for India’s dying wastelands? Subscriber Only

The momo story: How Dolma Aunty fought for her brand Subscriber Only

Are you still employable after a career break?

Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 is sharp and impactful

Lessons on parenting in a Metro

Tracing the journey of Kasuri methi from Pakistan to India

Do Aur Do Pyaar lacks sizzle, springs to life intermittently

Is post-retirement life as bad as it is made out

Mehsampur: An angrier alternative to Imtiaz Ali's Chamkila Subscriber Only

• Everyday Explainers
• Everyday Global
• Express Explained
• Narendra Modi
• Papua New Guinea

Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) will declare the Class 10 results today (April 19) on their official websites. Students can access their scorecards by entering their login details on jac.nic.in, jharresults.nic.in, or jac.jharkhand.gov.in. The marksheet will include personal details, subject-wise marks, and a cumulative score. Last year, the pass percentage was 95.38%.

More Explained

Best of Express

EXPRESS OPINION

Apr 19: Latest News

• 01 Sule has borrowed money from Sunetra Pawar, does not own a vehicle, shows election affidavit
• 02 IPL 2024 Points Table update: Mumbai Indians rise to 7th while Punjab Kings plummet to 9th after PBKS vs MI
• 03 Firing outside Salman’s residence: FB account used by Anmol Bishnoi to claim responsibility created the same day
• 04 At UN, Iran warns Israel against further military action
• 05 IPL 2024 Purple Cap: Jasprit Bumrah tops charts, Gerald Coetzee rises to 3rd after PBKS vs MI
• Elections 2024
• Political Pulse
• Entertainment
• Movie Review
• Newsletters
• Gold Rate Today
• Silver Rate Today
• Petrol Rate Today
• Diesel Rate Today
• Web Stories

May 19, 2023 | Strategic Analysis Australia

Modi goes to png – why it matters to the region and australia, cleo paskal.

Non-Resident Senior Fellow

Anthony Bergin

Strategic Analysis Australia

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Papua New Guinea early next week and then go on to Australia, despite the cancellation of the Quad Leaders’ summit. Fortunately, Prime Minister Modi’s visit to PNG wasn’t linked to US President Biden’s cancelled visit to the country. Modi’s visit to Port Moresby now isn’t competing with or risking being overshadowed by President Biden’s.

That’s good news, because there’s a lot of substance to Indian engagement not just with PNG, but with the wider Pacific. And this is deeply in Australia and the wider region’s interests, so we should be paying attention.

The background to the visit by Modi to PNG, the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country, really started in 2014 when he visited Fiji and met for the first time with Pacific Island leaders. They announced a range of initiatives, including the much-appreciated e-visa option for Pacific Island visitors to India.

A second meeting of what became known as the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation was held in Jaipur in 2015. After that there was little movement. Other urgent and geographically closer issues dominated India’s Ministry of External Affairs. At the same time, for many overstretched Pacific governments, funding for exploratory missions to India hasn’t been a priority in the absence of strong interest from Delhi. And there was Covid.

But recently there’s been a surge in attention being paid to the region at the highest levels in India. There are many reasons, including concern over China’s destabilising actions in the Pacific Islands region affecting the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and India’s leadership position in the G20 this year resulting in Delhi looking to create new opportunities for itself and other nations caught in a complex economic environment.

What’s helped revive the process has been India’s willingness to go to the region. In February, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Fiji for the World Hindi conference. And last December, there were foreign office consultations between India and PNG in Port Moresby.

That grew into not just the setting up of the upcoming bilateral meetings for Modi in PNG, but the setting up of a “secretariat” to coordinate and fund the complex project of bringing in and now hosting a full Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation gathering in Port Moresby with Pacific Island leaders from across the region. Australian Pacific Minister Pat Conroy will attend the Forum meeting.

Chinese political influence and interference in the Pacific often enters the body politics via economic pathways. India is the only Quad country that can compete economically with China in sectors that are of prime importance to the Pacific Islands.

India has pioneered village-scale economies, low cost yet reliable and robust technologies, along with affordable pharmaceuticals, medical care, renewable energy systems, and tertiary education—and all of it largely available in English. India has highly trained personnel accustomed to working in difficult conditions that require adaptability and improvisation. India offers fresh hope to the Pacific that the island states don’t have to be bullied by China’s political warfare campaign to obtain economic benefits.

India has a lot to offer. But to really make it work there should be flights between India and the Pacific Islands. An Oceania House should be established in Delhi so island countries that can’t afford to set up their own missions could post representatives in India. Indian diplomatic representation in the region could be expanded, perhaps through a network of honorary consuls.

Broadening cultural exchanges should be a priority. That might be done by establishing India Houses in each island state that could, for example, facilitate access to Indian media for local broadcast. The islands might work with Indian TV and movie producers to film in the Pacific. Indian educational leaders should visit the region to raise awareness of the quality, affordability, and safety of Indian education. Working groups should be established on specific health concerns in the islands.

Where appropriate, India could work with the islands on intelligence sharing. This might incorporate training on the identification and countering of PRC political warfare operations—something India has taken the lead on as seen, for example, by the bans around TikTok and WeChat.

The island countries could consider working with Indian states that have similar physical environments, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to set up joint research institutes into key sectors, such as fisheries, tropical disease, environmental security, water, and agriculture.

As India works to strengthen its ties with the region it should make clear that its relationship with Fiji is unique and based on the large Indian diaspora. But India’s interests and relationships are far broader than Fiji alone. Prime Minister Modi visiting PNG demonstrates that.

Beijing will be hoping Prime Minister Modi’s visit to PNG fails to make a difference. But given the severity of China’s threat to the islands we need to provide strong support to democratic India’s efforts to provide the region with more options. We don’t need to be in the middle of every relationship that the island states have with other countries, especially Quad members.

Island countries who believe in and are willing to fight for democracy, a free press, the right to practice their faith, and to start a business are looking for close partners. One country they want to learn more about is India.

We shouldn’t get in the way.

Cleo Paskal is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. Anthony Bergin is a senior fellow at Strategic Analysis Australia and an expert associate at the National Security College.

• India at 2047

Why PM Modi’s Papua New Guinea Visit Next Week Is More Crucial Than His Japan, Australia Trips

During his visit to png, pm modi will host the 3rd summit of the forum for india-pacific islands cooperation and hold a bilateral meeting with prime minister james marape to strengthen ties..

By: Nayanima Basu | Updated at : 19 May 2023 02:31 PM (IST)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthens ties with Papua New Guinea during his upcoming trip. ( Image Source : PTI )

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) next week is going to be more crucial than his visits to Japan and Australia as New Delhi is worried over the island nation’s growing proximity with China which poses a potential security threat to the entire region and the Indo-Pacific strategic framework, ABPLive has learnt.

Prime Minister Modi will be visiting Papua New Guinea (PNG) on May 22 from Hiroshima, Japan after attending the G7 Summit. The Prime Minister will be having a packed visit to Port Moresby where he will host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with James Marape, Prime Minister of PNG.

Thereafter, Modi and Marape will be holding a crucial bilateral meeting wherein both sides will seek to strengthen their bilateral ties, which has seen much neglect over several years.

PNG is the most populated as well as resource-rich compared to other Pacific island countries. The country has rich reserves of gold and copper ores and that is one of the reasons why Beijing is deeply eyeing it, sources said.

Before embarking on his three-leg visit to Japan, PNG and Australia, Modi said, “I look forward to engaging with the PIC (Pacific Island Countries) leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.”

The FIPIC III Summit will be attended by all 14 Pacific Island Countries.

Last November, PM Marape met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok in which Beijing said both countries are “good friends, good partners and good brothers”.

“President Xi highlighted China’s readiness to work with PNG to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and to expand cooperation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, infrastructure, special economic zones, disaster preparedness and mitigation, and green development,” said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

Marape has also been invited by the Chinese to visit Beijing for a ‘State Visit’ and the invitation was extended to him by China’s special envoy to the Pacific Qian Bo last month.

Alarm Bells In Quad Countries Over Papua New Guinea’s China Tilt

After US President Joe Biden cancelled his historic visit to PNG, Modi’s visit there has assumed greater significance since New Delhi is a ‘Major Defence Partner’ of the US and plans to strengthen military-to-military ties with that island.

In June 2017, INS Sahyadri paid a goodwill visit to Port Moresby. Prior to this, in July 2006 Indian Missile Frigate Naval Ship 'Tabar’ had made a port call there.

In 2016, the then President Pranab Mukherjee paid a first-ever State Visit to PNG from 28 to 29 April 2016.

PNG’s strategic location coupled with increasing Chinese belligerence in the South China Sea and South Pacific have sent alarm bells ringing in the Quad countries – India, Japan, Australia and the US – who will soon be kick-starting their annual ‘Malabar’ naval exercise off Sydney coast from August 11-20 aimed at giving more teeth to the vision of freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific, said sources.

The source said PM Modi will be discussing defence and security ties with PM Marape.

“China has started playing its game in the entire South Pacific while evidently, it is focussing more on PNG since it is the big boy in the group. India, along with other members of the Quad, is now trying to do its bit to be more active there as an absence from there by all these countries has given a free hand to the Chinese there,” said a former diplomat who has served as India’s envoy to Australia.

According to the sources, it is the US that is mainly concerned over the growing Chinese influence in the Pacific Islands, which has been “ignored” by Washington for decades.

The diplomat said, “As the US, Australia and others started ignoring PNG, China got a free hand. The realisation to engage more deeply with PNG has only dawned on now when the Chinese are building military bases there.”

The US is now looking to conclude negotiations on a shiprider agreement and Defense Cooperation Agreement with PNG, the talks for which began in March this year with the visit of the US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell.

After a span of three decades, the US opened its Embassy in the Solomon Islands in order to boost diplomatic ties in the Pacific to ward off China. In March the US also unveiled a ‘Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability 10-Year Strategic Plan for Papua New Guinea’.

China is, reportedly, also planning to build a series of military bases in the South Pacific essentially encircling north Australia.

Related Stories

India Delivers First Batch Of BrahMos Missile System To Philippines. See First Images

Empowerment & Safety Of Muslims, Stronger Ties: What’s On Bangladeshis’ Mind As India Votes

MSC Aries: Indian Embassy Officials In Iran To Soon Meet 17 Sailors Onboard Seized Ship

As Brutal Myanmar Civil War Drags On, India Keeps Close Watch, Puts Defences In Place

Modi’s 10-Year Defence Report Card: Record Exports But India Remains Top Importer

Live News Today

• Latest Mobile Phones

Entertainment

• Visual Stories
• Celebrities
• Movie Review
• ICC Ranking
• Virat Kohli

PIN Code Finder

• Varanasi Pin Code
• Meerut Pin Code
• Lucknow Pin Code
• Allahabad Pin Code
• Bareilly Pin Code
• Kanpur Nagar Pin Code
• Ghaziabad Pin Code
• Aurangabad Pin Code
• Nagpur Pin Code
• Pune Pin Code

ABP NEWS GROUP WEBSITES

• Ground Reports
• 50-Word Edit
• National Interest
• Campus Voice
• Security Code
• Off The Cuff
• Democracy Wall
• Around Town
• PastForward
• In Pictures
• Last Laughs
• ThePrint Essential

Port Moresby [Papua New Guinea], May 21 (ANI): As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Sunday, a rare moment was seen at the Port Moresby airport where PNG Prime Minister James Marape touched his feet and sought his blessings.

PM Modi arrived in the Indo-Pacific country on the second leg of his three-country visit.

Upon PM Modi’s arrival, the Indian national anthem was played and the two prime ministers stood still in respect. PM Modi was also accorded a guard of honour on his arrival.

This is PM Modi’s first tour to PNG, as well as the first-ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister to the Indo-Pacific country.

Usually, Papua New Guinea doesn’t give a ceremonial welcome to any leader coming after sunset. But the nation made a special exception for PM Modi, and a fully studded ceremonial welcome was given to him.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Papua New Guinea, receives ceremonial welcome. PM Modi’s visit is the first-ever visit by the Indian PM to Papua New Guinea. pic.twitter.com/E0srfABHAv — ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2023

A traditional folk dance performance was also staged outside the airport to welcome PM Modi to PNG.

During his Papua New Guinea visit, PM Modi is set to co-chair the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) on Monday. PM Modi’s Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape will also be there.

The FIPIC Summit will see participation from leaders of 14 countries. Normally all of them rarely converge together due to connectivity and other issues.

FIPIC was launched during PM Modi’s visit to Fiji in 2014.

Apart from the FIPIC engagements, PM Modi will also have bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit.

After his visit to Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will travel to Sydney at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

On Sunday, PM Modi wrapped up his fruitful visit to Japan and departed for Papua New Guinea.

The Prime Minister is on a six-day visit to three countries — Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia from May 19 to 24.

This tour comprises the G7 and Quad summits which were held in Hiroshima and the ensuing bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and hosting the third summit for the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in Papua New Guinea. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube , Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here .

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Most Popular

Lok sabha election 2024 phase-1 live: lakshadweep records the lowest voter turnout till 1pm, splintered opposition, bjp consolidation & article 370 — dynamics in play in j&k as udhampur votes, panel will keep watch for violation of new drug marketing code, says pharma secretary.

Required fields are marked *

Copyright © 2024 Printline Media Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

Pm modi's visit to japan, papua new guinea, australia from may 19-24.

A Ministry of External Affairs release said that Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral engagements in Papua New Guinea, including meetings with Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae and Prime Minister James Marape. After concluding his visit to Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will travel to Sydney despite the cancellation of the Quad Leaders' meeting. He will arrive in Australia on May 23.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 1 Polling: Live updates

Read More News on

Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

How this oil & gas stock found its roar back after years of silence

What makes foreign investors jittery about the Mauritius route suddenly?

This credit fund’s unconventional bet gave investors 20% return.

Google 1-startups 0: This INR2,000 crore ad war is set for a new twist

Why Indians would rather eat restaurant food than buy ready-to-cook

Cement stocks that should look solid in your portfolio

Find this comment offensive?

Choose your reason below and click on the Report button. This will alert our moderators to take action

Reason for reporting:

Your Reason has been Reported to the admin.

To post this comment you must

Log In/Connect with:

Fill in your details:

Will be displayed

Will not be displayed

Share this Comment:

Stories you might be interested in

India kicks off the world's largest elections this week. Here's what you need to know.

Indians head to the polls on Friday in what will be the world’s largest democratic election , as close to one billion voters pick their next government and decide whether to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term in office.

The  2024 general elections  will pan out in seven phases over the next six weeks, starting April 19.

Voters will decide who fills the seats of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, for the next five years. The Lok Sabha is the more powerful of the two houses of Parliament.

More from CNBC

• Google workers arrested after nine-hour protest in cloud chief’s office
• Tesla is laying off 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, as part of a broad restructuring
• Elon Musk says in email that Tesla sent ‘incorrectly low’ severance packages to some laid-off employees

Whichever party or coalition wins the majority will lead the government and pick the next prime minister. Analysts widely expect Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to score another landslide victory in the upcoming elections.

Here’s why India’s elections matter.

India’s meteoric rise

Under Modi’s rule, India’s economy has scaled to new heights. It is now the world’s fifth-largest economy with a GDP of $3.7 trillion and has set its sights on  becoming the world’s third-largest economy  by 2027.

Home to 1.4 billion people, the world’s most populous country is the fastest-growing economy in the world . Its economy grew 7.2% in fiscal 2022-2023, the  second-highest among the G20 countries .

The  International Monetary Fund projects  that India’s economy will grow 6.8% in 2024 and 6.5% in 2025, compared with China’s predicted growth of 4.6% in 2024 and 4.1% in 2025.

That’s not all.

India’s stock market  overtook Hong Kong’s  in December to become the fourth largest in the world, and is now valued at over $4 trillion. 

Analysts expect Modi to win a third consecutive five-year term, further driving India’s growth trajectory.

“The growth story is not done. But private and foreign investments have been very subdued and exports have also declined,” Suyash Rai, deputy director and fellow at Carnegie India, told CNBC. “So I feel that there is some weakness building up.”

India has forged deeper ties with the West in the past year, and Modi’s reelection could further strengthen U.S.-India relations, said Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House. 

He said India is seen as a “bulwark against China” as the Biden administration continues to encourage U.S. companies to move electronics and technology manufacturing operations out of China into friendlier countries, like India. 

“If there are two countries where there’s the highest degree of consensus, it’s China as a long-term strategic rival and India as a long-term strategic partner. That won’t change,” Bajpaee said. 

Key contenders

There will be 543 contested seats in the lower house, and the party or coalition that wins at least 272 votes will form the government.

The two main contenders are the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the opposition bloc known as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The opposition coalition was formed last year when more than 40 opposition parties joined forces. It is led by the Indian National Congress, whose leading figure is Rahul Gandhi — the son of Rajiv Gandhi, a grandson of Indira Gandhi, and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, who all served as prime ministers of India.

The Congress party, which ruled the country for most of its post-Independence era, suffered stinging defeats in the elections in 2014 and 2019. 

In 2019, the  BJP secured a total of 303 seats . Together with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, 352 seats were clinched. The opposition Indian National Congress won 52 seats that year.

This time, the BJP’s coalition bloc is widely expected to once again trump the opposition parties and win a historic third term thanks to the political stability in the last decade, analysts said.

“Policy consistency and political stability are connected to each other deeply. So the expectation will be that the government that comes in will be able to maintain that,” said Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore.

“This will be a significant year for India, and I have a feeling that whoever be the government in India, the foreign policy direction and the economic policy direction are going to remain broadly unchanged,” he told CNBC.

Modi  reportedly  said in March that he was confident the BJP and NDA would secure a total of 400 seats.

Chatham’s Bajpaee said it’s a “foregone conclusion” that Modi’s BJP will take the reins again this year, but “what’s unclear is the scale of the victory.” 

“You don’t need the BJP to lose for the opposition to win. All they need to do is prove the Modi brand has weakened if they don’t perform as well as last time,” he highlighted.   

Voters’ concerns

According to a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies,  unemployment was the top concern  for 27% of the 10,000 surveyed.

More than half  (62%) of those surveyed also said it had become more difficult to find a job in the last five years during Modi’s second term.

“You still have a large proportion of the population which is impoverished, so there are large disparities across the country,” Bajpaee said.

Rising costs is the second-biggest concern, with 23% of voters surveyed saying it was their primary concern. About 35% of respondents said their  quality of life had declined  in the last five years.

About 13% said their biggest worry was the country’s development, while 8% said corruption was their top concern.

Election in numbers

This will be India’s biggest election yet, with some 968 million people registered to vote — 48% of them women, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. There will also be  18 million  first-time voters, Reuters reported.

Given the sheer number of voters, the seven-phase election will last 44 days, from April 19 to June 1, across 554 constituencies, according to the Election Commission of India. 

The six-week election is expected to cost more than the 2020 U.S. presidential election where $14.4 billion was spent, according to Washington-based research firm  OpenSecrets . 

Data from the company showed that India spent $8.6 billion on the 2019 general elections, $2.1 billion more than the 2016 U.S. presidential race. 

Results will be released on June 4. 

Electoral rules  state that since there must be a polling station within two kilometers of every registered voter, there will be about a million polling stations, 5.5 million electronic voting machines, and 15 million staff and security personnel overseeing the election,  data  from the election commission showed.

Charmaine Jacob is a digital news associate based out of CNBC’s Singapore office.

Modi doesn't need Musk to win elections, but billionaire's visit a boon for India, expert says

A s Indians start casting votes in the 44-day election that started Friday , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk will meet, with reports indicating that Musk will announce an investment of $2 billion to $3 billion in the country.

"I don't think Mr. Musk is going to make a huge impact, positive or negative, on Mr. Modi, but [his visit’s] going to solidify Modi as someone who's able to attract the world's fanciest corporations to India to manufacture in India ," Siddhartha Dubey, a journalism professor based in Evanston, Illinois, told Fox News Digital.

"Mr. Modi is going to win these elections, no doubt about that," Dubey added. "He doesn't need Elon Musk to help him."

"What Mr. Modi is really, really good at is turning a figure like Elon Musk, the world's richest man who lives in America, into ‘Look at me. Look how well I'm doing. I am able to attract the world's wealthiest man to India. Vote for me.’"

TESLA ASKS SHAREHOLDERS REINSTATE ELON MUSK'S PAY, MOVE TO TEXAS

Musk met with Modi last year during the prime minister’s visit to the U.S. in November, when Musk revealed that he remains "confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so soon as humanly possible."

READ ON THE FOX BUSINESS APP

The Tesla founder seems set to make good on that promise with a massive investment potentially upward of $3 billion, earmarked mainly to build a new factory, according to the Indian Express newspaper. The duo is to meet on Monday to discuss details of the plan that will see Tesla enter the world’s third-largest car market – and to boost an Indian electric car market that remains underdeveloped.

Electric vehicles (EVs) made up just 2% of total car sales in India in 2023, with the government aiming to grow that to 30% starting in 2030, and Tesla will welcome the shift in focus as EV sales in the U.S. and China slow and Tesla has cut jobs, The Hindu newspaper reported .

X PLATFORM'S BRAND SAFETY SCORE FOR ADVERTISERS HURT BY ERROR

"Tesla has no footprint, really, in India in terms of electric cars," Dubey said. "The biggest player in the Indian market right now is Tata [Motors] , but Hyundai as well as Mahindra, another Indian manufacturer, and Toyota have strong ambitions for India, and they’re all producing a range of electric cars."

"The thing about Tesla is that it's a premium brand, and Indians are very price conscious," Dubey noted. "So, in regard to selling mass-market electric vehicles in India at a scale, [Tesla’s] pricing has to be really, really important, otherwise, I really don't think it's going to work." 

Some have argued that Modi would capitalize on Musk to help boost his ability to create jobs by expanding EV production in his country – thanks to a potential Tesla factory – and other tech-related initiatives that would help drive down the country’s unemployment rate. 

India currently suffers from a high unemployment rate among its young college graduate population, with 40% of people ages 20 to 25 unable to find jobs, according to political economist Parakala Prabhakar, who cited the International Labor Organization during a national colloquium on the issue. 

ELON MUSK HOSTS ARGENTINE PRESIDENT JAVIER MILEI AT TESLA HEADQUARTERS

Prabhakar also noted that domestic investment fell from 30% to 19%. Modi, simultaneously, has urged international investors to put their money into India and "link their growth" with the country’s rapid rise. India last year overtook the United Kingdom and became the fifth-largest economy in the world, rising four places during Modi’s time in office.

Dubey said the current tax on EVs is a "considerable" deterrent to Indian consumers; India is looking at reducing tax rates on imported EVs by around 15%, a significant drop from the current 100% that exists now. Modi has tried to bring the rate down, looking to expedite the adoption to help clear a path for Musk.

Tesla has directed its Berlin factory to start producing right-hand-drive cars with the goal of exporting them to India this year to help speed up adoption.

Details about the plan remain scarce, but reports indicate that Musk will not provide details about a timeline or location of the plant within India. Some have suggested that New Delhi or Mumbai as likely locations.

Dubey, however, noted that Musk presents another opportunity for India: a major boost in the space race, which India has eagerly pursued in recent years. The Indian Space Research Organization, the national space agency of India, in August 2023 successfully completed the first-ever landing on the moon’s southern pole – a feat Russia failed to achieve just days earlier.

"India’s space industry is really exciting, especially with the last several successful rocket launches, including an unmanned mission to the moon," Dubey said.

"The start-up and private sector in space, which, mind you, is … largely a government sector, is really exciting because a lot of capital [is] going into it," he said. "A lot of very smart Indians as well as Israeli and American and European investors are looking at that industry in India, and that's another place where Mr. Musk, I think, can benefit a lot from his participation."

Original article source: Modi doesn't need Musk to win elections, but billionaire's visit a boon for India, expert says

Tesla's Musk likely to unveil $2-$3 bln India investment during visit, sources say

• Medium Text

• Company Tata Motors Ltd Follow
• Company Tesla Inc Follow

Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here.

Reporting by Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Aditya Kalra is the Company News Editor for Reuters in India, overseeing business coverage and reporting stories on some of the world's biggest companies. He joined Reuters in 2008 and has in recent years written stories on challenges and strategies of a wide array of companies -- from Amazon, Google and Walmart to Xiaomi, Starbucks and Reliance. He also extensively works on deeply-reported and investigative business stories.

Business Chevron

Safe havens Swiss franc, yen pare gains as Iran downplays Israel strike

The safe-haven Swiss franc and Japanese yen pared gains on Friday after Tehran signalled that it has no plans to retaliate against Israel, which launched what has been described as a limited-scale attack on Iran overnight.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.