New Delhi: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set for the G20 summit in Argentina, on the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi will have a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The White House on Tuesday said that, “the US President Donald Trump will have a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on November 30 and December 1.”
The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings Trump would have later this week on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina. The annual meeting is being attended by leaders of the top 20 economies of the world.
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Briefing reporters ahead of the G20 Summit, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that Trump will also have meetings with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Bolton said the Trump-Abe bilateral meeting would expand into a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi. No other details were immediately available. However, all eyes are expected to be on two meetings that Trump would have with the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Trump will be holding over half a dozen bilateral meetings on the sidelines of this week’s Group of 20 summits in Argentina, the White House said.
“While at the G20 the President and delegation will interact with many leaders, including bilateral meetings with the President of Argentina, the President of Russia, Prime Minister of Japan and the Chancellor of Germany, and a working dinner with the President of China,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told a White House briefing.
Asked whether Trump planned to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who the CIA reportedly believes authorised the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — Sanders said an informal meeting remained a possibility.
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“I wouldn’t say we’ve ruled out any interaction,” she said, although she stressed that “the President’s schedule is pretty packed” and that no formal bilateral was planned.
Meanwhile, President Trump on the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, expressed solidarity with the victims of the deadly Mumbai terror attack.
“On the ten-year anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack, the U.S. stands with the people of India in their quest for justice. The attack killed 166 innocents, including six Americans. We will never let terrorists win, or even come close to winning,” Trump tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Argentina from November 28 to December 2 to participate in the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Modi will also highlight the risks posed by oil price volatility and raise the issue of combating terror financing and money laundering, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
G-20 has made commendable efforts to promote cooperation among leading global economies. India’s contribution to global economic growth and prosperity underlines our commitment to “Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development”, which is the theme of the Summit.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 27, 2018
The foreign secretary said Modi will also meet United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mauricio Macri, the President of Argentina; Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He will also meet the prime ministers of Spain, Jamaica, the Netherlands and the president of the European Union and European Council. A bilateral meeting between Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron is also being worked out.