Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Mauritius and Bangladesh and US President Joe Biden on Friday, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi over the weekend, people familiar with the matter said.
Mauritius and Bangladesh are among the nine guest countries invited to this year’s G20, and Modi will kick off a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the summit by holding talks with Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth at his official residence, the people said.
This will be followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, a key player in India’s Act East and Neighbourhood First policies, the people said. The highlight of the bilateral meetings on September 8 will be talks between Modi and Biden, which will be an opportunity to follow up on and take forward decisions made during the Prime Minister’s visit to the US in June.
The meeting between Modi and Hasina, seen as one of New Delhi’s key allies in the neighbourhood, will be an opportunity to review numerous initiatives launched by the two sides in recent years to improve connectivity for trade, transport and energy and to boost people-to-people contacts. Transit connectivity got another boost with Bangladesh’s decision to allow the use of its Chattogram and Mongla ports for the trans-shipment of goods to India’s northeastern states.
Hasina is also expected to bring up the issue of Western pressure on her government on the issue of conducting free and fair elections. Bangladesh is set to go to the polls by January 2024. The people said the Indian side has informed the US that pressuring the Bangladesh government on this issue could end up strengthening extremist and radical forces and increasing China’s role in the neighbouring country.
{{/usCountry}}Hasina is also expected to bring up the issue of Western pressure on her government on the issue of conducting free and fair elections. Bangladesh is set to go to the polls by January 2024. The people said the Indian side has informed the US that pressuring the Bangladesh government on this issue could end up strengthening extremist and radical forces and increasing China’s role in the neighbouring country.
{{/usCountry}}Hasina is also eyeing the possibility of holding a meeting or having a pull-aside with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on the margins of a formal dinner being hosted for G20 leaders on September 9, the people said. The Bangladeshi premier could raise the long-pending issue of sharing the waters of the Teesta river if the meeting with Banerjee goes ahead. All chief ministers have been invited to the dinner being hosted by the Indian president.
The meeting between Modi and Biden is expected to focus on follow-ups to decisions and agreements finalised during the Indian leader’s state visit to the US in June. Among the issues that are expected to figure in the meeting are defence cooperation, including the joint production of advanced jet engines for India’s home-grown combat jets and supply of weaponised drones, civil nuclear cooperation, cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, energy transition, and cooperation to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.