New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Strengthening multilateralism, fostering bilateral economic cooperation and garnering further support on India’s fight against terrorism from countries across different continents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a major tour of several nations, including Brazil for 17th BRICS Summit, early next month.
PM Modi is expected to visit Morocco, Argentina, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and Jordan from July 2-10, top officials have revealed while not ruling out stopovers in more nations.
Consolidating India’s position as a voice of the Global South, Prime Minister Modi has been spotlighting India’s emergence as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ in a divided world.
Over the last 11 years, India has also strongly established itself as an all-weather friend of Africa with PM Modi emphasising New Delhi’s commitment to the continent.
The State Visit to Morocco will only be the second by an Indian PM after late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s landmark February 1999 visit to the North African nation.
King Mohammed VI, who had chosen India for his first visit to an Asian country in 2001, visited India again in 2015 to participate in the third India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III). Analysts reckon that it was his meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the event that intensified the partnership between both countries like never before.
Since then, India and Morocco have seen over two dozen Ministerial visits and signing of more than 40 MoUs/agreements in areas including counter-terrorism, cyber security, space, agriculture, vocational training, etc.
PM Modi’s significant visit would take place in the aftermath of the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and holds huge significance as Morocco also continues to battle the growing onslaught of terrorism, militancy and extremism in the Sahel region. Morocco is also a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and co-chairs the Africa Focus Group.
After wrapping up his engagements in Africa, PM Modi could visit Argentina, sources with knowledge of the itinerary that is being finalised, said.
The multi-faceted relations between the two countries have strengthened, especially after being elevated to the level of Strategic Partnership during the State Visit to India of the then President of Argentina in February 2019.
In what was the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Prime Minister Modi had met Argentina President Javier Milei, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.
The two leaders, the PMO stated after the meeting, had an engaging discussion and also expressed satisfaction at the broadening of the Strategic Partnership between the two vibrant democracies in the last few years. They had also noted the deepening of trade and economic relations with India emerging among the top five trading partners of Argentina.
PM Modi would then attend the BRICS Summit at the Museum of Modern Art, scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7.
In the last Summit, held under Russia’s chairship in Kazan in October 2024, PM Modi had noted that the event was taking place at a time when the world is undergoing several uncertainties and challenges including conflicts, adverse climatic impacts, and cyber threats, placing greater expectations upon BRICS.
Addressing two sessions of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, PM Modi had suggested that the group take a people-centric approach to tackle these challenges and also underlined the need for early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations to combat the menace of terrorism.
It is expected that PM Modi will visit Trinidad and Tobago in the southern Caribbean after the BRICS Summit.
Last November, while addressing the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit in Georgetown, Prime Minister Modi had underscored that India stands firmly for giving voice to the concerns of the Global South. Noting that the Global South countries were the most impacted by the challenges and conflicts of recent years, he had also reaffirmed India’s steadfast commitment to Caribbean countries as a reliable partner.
It was on the sidelines of the Summit in Guyana that PM Modi also met with the then Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Keith Rowley and congratulated him for adoption of India’s flagship UPI Platform by the Caribbean nation while assuring further collaboration in the field of digital transformation.
Both countries also share deep-rooted people-to-people ties since 1845, when the first ship ‘Fatel Razack’ carrying 225 Indian indentured workers reached the shores of Trinidad, then a British colony.
On his way back to India, it is expected that PM Modi will be visiting Jordan, a country that has had historical links with India since times immemorial.
PM Modi had transited Amman in February 2018 during his official visit to Palestine when he was received by King Abdullah at his private residential palace followed by a bilateral meeting between the two leaders.
After King Abdullah’s historic State Visit to India in February-March 2018, both leaders have met on four occasions – at a pull-aside meeting during the 74th UNGA in New York on 24 Sep 2019; in Riyadh during the ‘Future Investment initiative’ meeting held in October 2019; on the sidelines of COP-28 in Dubai in December 2023; and, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy in June 2024.
On April 24, in a phone call with Prime Minister Modi, King Abdullah II had strongly condemned the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam and conveyed sincere condolences at the loss of innocent lives.
“His Majesty emphasised Jordan’s rejection of violence in all its forms, and wished the injured a speedy recovery,” the Jordanian King’s office said in a statement after the phone call.
–IANS
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