G20 Summit: Modi leaves for Japan, likely to hold bilaterals with Trump, Shinzo Abe on Day 1

New Delhi, June 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday embarked on his journey to Osaka in Japan to attend the 14th G20 summit. PM Modi's first bilateral meet on day one will be with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. Japanese PM was the first foreign leader to congratulate PM Modi on phone on his re-election on May 23rd.

The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be visiting India later this year for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit that alternates its location between India and Japan.

In his departure statement, he said issues such as women empowerment, artificial intelligence and common efforts to address challenges like terrorism will be high on his agenda.

The Osaka Summit will be an important stepping stone for India towards hosting the G-20 Summit in 2022, "when we usher in a New India in the 75th Anniversary of the Independence," he said.

He said the two-day Osaka summit will also be an important stepping stone for India towards hosting the G20 summit in 2022 "when we usher in a New India in the 75th anniversary year of our Independence".

On the sidelines of the Summit, PM Modi said he was looking forward to engaging with leaders of the major partner countries on important issues of bilateral and global importance. Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu is the Prime Minister's Sherpa at the summit.

More than 20 countries will be participating in the G20 Summit.

What is the G20 Summit?

G20, or the Group of Twenty, is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It was founded in 1999 and has overshadowed the G7 in the last 10 years.

The group comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).