London: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in London on Tuesday night to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as he looks to enhance India’s role in multilateral organisations.
Modi, who is on his second official visit to Britain, was received by foreign secretary Boris Johnson. He will have a full day of bilateral meetings with the Theresa May government on Wednesday, before attending CHOGM sessions in London and Windsor on April 19 and 20.
Modi’s engagements on Wednesday will begin in the morning with a handshake with May, standing in front of 10 Downing Street’s iconic door, followed by bilateral meetings. Several memoranda of understanding are due to be signed.
One of them will be on renewing the MoU that lapsed in 2014 on the framework and process to identify and return illegal Indians in the United Kingdom. May has often flagged this as a major issue, linking it to any improvement in the UK visa offer to Indians.
Modi will then visit the Science Museum, where an exhibition titled ‘Illuminating India’ on the country’s historical and contemporary contribution to science, technology and mathematics has been drawing many visitors. He will be joined by Prince Charles.
The Prime Minister will then travel to Buckingham Palace in the mid-afternoon for an audience with Queen Elizabeth, 91, who officials said had sent a warm personal letter to Modi through Prince Charles, inviting him to CHOGM.
In the evening, Modi will join other Commonwealth leaders at a banquet hosted by Prime Minister May.
