/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/26/2024-12-26t112006978z-wion-white-logo-for-website-2-1.png){kind=logo}
/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/13/2024-12-13t071548098z-wionlogo.webp)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2018/09/10/4104-Siddhant-Sibal.png)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2018/09/10/4104-Siddhant-Sibal.png)
/wion/media/post_attachments/files/2019/06/28/100308-saudi-india.jpeg)
Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Even by the diplomatic standards, the first day of the G20 Summit was not only hectic but showed how India was a sought after country at the event in Osaka.
While the two trilateral meetings with Russia, China and Japan, America - along with informal BRICS meet - dominated the day, key bilaterals with countries such as Saudi Arabia were an important element of the day.
Other than PM's much-touted bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
With the Saudi Crown Prince, the PM discussed the current Gulf situation.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale stated, "They discussed the situation in the Gulf and the prime minister said that this could impact the oil prices which is important for India. The PM appreciated the efforts by Saudi Arabia in ensuring oil supplies have remained stable and oil prices have remained predictable in the last few months".
"Iran wasn't discussed," the Foreign Secretary added.
Met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We reviewed the full range of relations between India and Saudi Arabia. Our talks today will add great strength to bilateral ties between our nations. pic.twitter.com/N15PFEUZgR
â Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 28, 2019
The Crown Prince has invited PM Modi for a conference to his country which will happen later this year. The Haj quota has also been increased for Indians from 170,000 to 200,000.
While with Merkel, PM Modi discussed artificial intelligence, railway modernisation; with South Korea, the focus was on visa regime improvement between the two countries. South Korea has recently liberalized group visas for Indian tourists.
The PM also had pull-aside meetings with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and World Bank President David Malpass. He also met several world leaders such as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
PM Modi will be meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte, Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, and Australian PM Scott Morrison on the second and the final day of the G20 summit on Saturday.