Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the third Quad Leaders Summit in Tokyo on May 24 to review progress of Quad initiative and working groups, identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance and vision for future cooperation, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

“At the invitation of the PM of Japan Fumio Kishida, PM Modi will participate in the third Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24 along with US President Joe Biden and the Australian Prime Minister,” MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing on Thursday.

On wheat export ban

Answering queries on questions being raised on India’s wheat export ban by several nations, Bagchi said that India would allow exports of wheat with approvals to those countries which needed to meet their food security demands or requirements. “It will be based on request from the concerned government. This policy will ensure that we respond to those most in need,” he said.

Referring to Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan’s speech at a high-level ministerial meeting on ‘Global Food Security-Call to Action’ in New York on Wednesday, Bagchi said that it was important to appreciate the value of equity, affordability and accessibility when it comes to food grains. “We have already seen to our great cost when these principles were disregarded when it came to Covid-19 vaccines. Open markets should not be an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination....Our measures on wheat should be seen in that context,” he said.

On Modi’s bilateral meetings in Tokyo, Bagchi said that the PM was scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden and Japanese PM Kishida on May 24. He would also meet the Austrlian PM who is to be elected on May 21.

The forthcoming Quad summit will provide an opportunity for the Quad leaders to exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific and contemporary global issues of mutual interest, Bagchi added.

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