Indian Prime Minister in Papua New Guinea for summit

2023-05-21T18:20:05.297Z

Highlights: India and the United States are holding a summit in Papua New Guinea. The summit is part of a larger effort to strengthen ties between the two countries. The U.S. and Australia are also hosting the summit, which will last two days. It is the first time the two nations have met since the end of the Second World War, when they were at war with each other. The United States and Australia have been at loggerheads over the use of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean since the 1950s.

India's Narendra Modi arrived in Papua New Guinea on Sunday for the Pacific Islands Summit, the first visit by a prime minister of that country to the region where Delhi is seeking to achieve a climate change.

Modi landed just after 22:00 local time (12 GMT) in the capital Port Moresby, where he will co-host the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation summit on Monday with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape and other Pacific island leaders.

Relations between the two Asian giants became strained in 2020 after incidents on their shared border.

Monday's summit will focus on development and climate change, after a final meeting in India eight years ago.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also arrived on Sunday to attend the summit.

On the other hand, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese will be absent, as will US President Joe Biden, who cancelled his trip due to the US debt crisis. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will replace him. He is expected to sign a security agreement with Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby.

Modi is then due to travel to Australia on Tuesday for talks with Albanese.

The Indian prime minister's visit comes after Modi joined the leaders of the United States, Japan and Australia on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan for a meeting of members of the Quad, which aims to contain China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Port Moresby Airport, Papua New Guinea, for the Pacific Islands Summit, May 21, 2023 © ANDREW KUTAN /

G7 leaders, along with Modi and other summit guests, on Saturday warned China against its "militarization activities" in the Asia-Pacific region, while saying the bloc also wants "constructive and stable relations" with Beijing.

According to experts, New Delhi is stepping up its commitment to the Pacific islands because of their strategic location and fears that China will fill the voids left by other powers.

"Alongside its increasingly important role in the Quad, India presents itself on the international stage as an Indo-Pacific power. It wants to be seen as such," Mihai Sora, a Pacific Islands researcher at Australia's Lowy Institute, told AFP.

Indian Prime Minister in Papua New Guinea for summit

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