London: PM Narendra Modi to attend Commonwealth summit today

LONDON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Thursday at the Buckingham Palace.

Prime Minister Modi will begin his day by visiting the International Media Centre at Marlborough House.

The Commonwealth Summit will be formally opened by Queen Elizabeth at 10 a.m. (local time) followed by an official welcome of the leaders of 53 Commonwealth nations by United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May and Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

The first one-hour Executive Session will be held at the Lancaster House at 12:15 p.m. (Local time) followed by the second executive session at 2:30 p.m. (local time).

On the sidelines of the Executive sessions, various bilateral meetings will also be held among the Commonwealth leaders.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela, The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Honourable Allen Chastanet are scheduled to hold a meeting.

Further President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda will conduct a bilateral meeting.

Later President Adama Barrow of the Gambia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia, Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius, Prime Minister Danny Faure of Seychelles and Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have a meeting in the evening.

Further, in the evening Queen Elizabeth will host a dinner reception for all the Commonwealth leaders.