Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres held talks at G7 summit over various topics of mutual interests which turned out to be fruitful. Indian PM currently is on a three-nation tour which includes Bahrain, UAE, and France. He arrived in the Biarritz town of France from Manama, the capital of Bahrain after concluding the first-ever Indian prime ministerial visit to the Gulf country.
“PM Narendra Modi met UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. The two leaders had fruitful discussions on a wide range of subjects,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, “PM Narendra Modi met with UNSG Antonio Guterres on the margins of the G7 summit in Biarritz. Good exchange of views on India’s participation at the Climate Action Summit at the UN and other issues of mutual interest.”
This meeting took place in the light of the Indian government’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and dividing it into two separate union territories.
Some days back, Mr. Guterres requested India and Pakistan to exercise “maximum restraint” and abstain from taking any unnecessary steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir. After Pakistan asked him to have his say in the Indian government’s decision on J&K, he pointed at the Shimla Agreement which refrains any third-party mediation on the issue.
The meeting of Mr. Modi and Mr. Guterres comes exactly a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called the UN chief to explain to him about the “evolving and delicate situation” in Jammu and Kashmir.
