G7 Summit: Modi to meet Donald Trump today, What to expect?

Washington, Aug 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will meet US President Donald Trump at 3.45 pm IST on the sidelines of the G7 Summit for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting is expected to continue for 45 min and will end at 4.30 pm IST.

It comes at a time when Pakistani leaders including PM Imran Khan, have made several provocative statements in its failed bid to internationalise Kashmir issue and Trump has twice offered to mediate between the two countries over it.

On Sunday, Modi left for France to attend the G7 Summit in Biarritz where India has been invited as a partner country.

He will speak in sessions on the environment, climate change, state of the oceans, and digital transformation and hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other countries participating in the two-day summit.

What is G7 summit?

The Group of Seven (G7) is an international intergovernmental economic grouping of countries consisting of the seven largest International Monetary Fund (IMF)-described large economies consisting Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

What to expect?

Modi and Trump are likely to discuss the situation in Kashmir, trade issues and other topics of mutual interest. Earlier this week in Washington, Trump said that he would discuss with Modi the situation in Kashmir and help ease tensions between India and Pakistan tensions when they meet at the summit in France this weekend.

After claiming that Modi had requested him for mediation on the Kashmir issue - an issue which the US State Department later clarified as a 'bilateral' matter of India and Pakistan.

Modi might want to reveal to the US president that Kashmir is no Afghanistan and that the situation in the Valley is returning to normal ever since India abrogated the contentious Article 370 and shut out Pakistani infiltrators to a significant extent.

It should be noted that last week, PM Modi during a telephonic conversation with Trump had conveyed that extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace in the region. Since the revocation of Article 370, Pakistani leaders including PM Imran Khan, have made several provocative statements in its failed bid to bring international attention to the issue.

Tensions between the neighbours increased after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan.

India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.

Though India is not a member of the G-7 grouping, Modi has been personally invited by French President Emmanuel Macron. The countries which are part of the G7 include the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US.