PM Modi on Six Day – Five City East Asia Whirlwind Tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a three nation official visit to China, Mongolia and Republic of Korea from May 14 – 19, 2015. The visit is special in the light of Modi’s earlier visit to Japan.

In China, Prime Minister will visit Xian, Beijing and Shanghai from May 14 – 16, 2015. He will hold bilateral meetings with China’s leadership and participate in cultural and business events. PM will also attend an event organized by the Indian community in China.

Prime Minister’s official engagements in Mongolia will be on May 17, 2015.This is the first ever visit by a Prime Minister of India to Mongolia.

Prime Minister’s visit to Republic of Korea will be on May 18 – 19, 2015. PM will hold bilateral discussions with President Park Geun-hye and meet with important business leaders in Seoul.

Meet with Business in Shanghai

On the last day of the China visit on 16 May, PM Modi will address Chinese and Indian business in Shanghai. The CCPIT is represents the dragons while the DIPP will lead the elephants. A memorandum of understanding will be signed along with inauguration of the Infosys Shanghai campus ICICI Bank’s China branch will also be inaugurated to help K. V. Kamath the former head of the Bank to assist him as the head of the newly born BRICS Bank.

-ABS News Service-

This will be his first visit to China as Prime Minister. Prime Minister’s visit will begin with his arrival in Xian which is the hometown of President Xi Jinping. After a summit meeting with President Xi in Xian that afternoon Modi will visit some places of cultural interest in Xian associated with Chinese history and civilisation. (Xian is famouse for Chinese Silk which is the subject of many anti-dumping actions by India to protect Karnataka farmers – Ed)

On the 15^th, Modi will be formally welcomed in Beijing by Premier Li Keqiang.

CMs and Mayors

The first meeting of the India-China State and Provincial Leaders’ Forum. So, Chief Ministers and Mayors occasion, both Indian and Chinese will attend. Chief Ministers Devendra Phadnavis of Maharashtra and Anandiben Patel of Gujarat will attend from India side. A Yoga-Tai Chi joint event at the Temple of Heaven will be a major attraction.

In the course of the visit, other than the formal occasions the Prime Minister would be delivering one public address at the Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Mongolia

The programme for Mongolia starts on the 17thof May and the first stop for the Prime Minister would be the Gandan Monastery where there would be a gift of the Bodhi Tree sampling to the Chief Abbott of the Monastery.

This is for the first time on a holiday the Parliament of Mongolia is going to allow a foreign leader to speak and address the membership.

There is a ceremony for laying a foundation stone for a proposed Information Technology Centre which follows thereafter.

The Prime Minister will also attend a mini Naadam festival which includes a display of horse racing, traditional wrestling and archery. This performance will be in an open area.

In the field of application of nuclear technology for curing of cancer in the National Cancer Centre of Mongolia India is gifting a Bhabhatron.

This is the first ever visit of Indian Prime Minister to Mongolia, and it takes place in the backdrop of celebrations of the 25th year of democracy in Mongolia and 60 years of our diplomatic relations.

With Mongolia of course we have a strong linkage of Buddhism and democracy.

Uranium from Mangolia

There is excellent potential for cooperation in the minerals sector. Mongolia is a mineral rich country in coking coal, copper, rare earths and uranium. We already have a civil nuclear agreement which provides for uranium exports to India once the domestic laws in Mongolia permit prospecting and mining. And also there is desire on both sides to take this forward. We will also explore possibilities of imports of Cashmere wool and also in the healthcare sector.

Let me now quickly move on to the Republic of Korea. As far as Republic of Korea is concerned, Prime Minister will arrive there on the 18th of May. He will depart on the morning of the 18^th of May and arrive in the Republic of Korea. As soon as he arrives, there would be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery.

Asian Leadership Conferences, CEO Forum

On 19^th of May, the Prime Minister will participate in the 6^th Asian Leadership Conference which is being organised by the Chosun Ilbo group, and it would also have the presence of President Park Geun-hye as well as Indian Prime Minister.

An India-Republic of Korea CEOs Forum, which actually would be attended by President Park Guen-hye and PM Modi. This will be followed by some meetings with the top CEOs of Korean companies which are willing to invest in India or have already invested in India.

Shipbuilding in Ulsan following Parrikar Visit

There would be finally a visit to the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard given the fact that shipbuilding is an important area of cooperation between the two countries. The Prime Minister will travel to Ulsan for this from where he would depart back to New Delhi.

India-Korea DTA

There is an emphasis on our bilateral economic and trade cooperation. This is a very important visit from that perspective. Therefore, besides the signature of a Double Taxation Avoidance Convention, there would be cooperation which would be looked at in the areas of shipping and logistics, audiovisual coproduction, in the area of transport, highways, etc., cooperation in electric power development in new energy industries, also arrangements between the National Security Councils of the two countries, enhancement of ties between the youth of the two countries, as well as looking at how best we can utilise credit on both sides for new projects that could be undertaken.

Bilateral trade is doing well at about USD 16 billion. However, there is the same problem of negative balance of trade as with China. There are 300 Korean companies who have invested about USD 3 billion in India. They employ about 40,000 workers here. Similarly our own investment in Republic of Korea is close to USD 2 billion, and industry looks forward to greater access in the Republic of Korea to pharmaceutical and IT products.

India-China trade deficit is over USD 48 billion, according to the Chinese Ambassador Le Yucheng, Modi will sign around USD 10 billion investments during China visit. Compared with the huge trade deficit actually there is a big difference.

The Foreign Secretary says there are many areas where India is globally competitive but somehow it has not been able to be successful in the Chinese market. Two very often cited examples are Indian pharmaceuticals and Indian IT enabled services. Both these are areas where India has a very successful global footprint, but that footprint has not extended to China. Even on something much less technology-embedded like say agricultural products, India has really struggled for a number of years to gain access to the Chinese market.