Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak and First Lady of the United Kingdom Akshata Murty being welcomed by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey upon their arrival at Palam Airforce Airport ahead of the G20 Summit, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
As Rishi Sunak, the first prime minister of the United Kingdom with ancestral roots in India, arrived in New Delhi to attend the G20 summit, he was welcomed with a “Jai Siya-Ram” hail and gifts like Rudrakhs, Bhagavad Gita and Hanuman Chalisa.
Sunak was received at the airport by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who greeted the British Prime Minister with the ‘Jai Siya-Ram’ hail and gifted him a set of Rudraksh and copies of Bhagavad Gita and Hanuman Chalisa. Choubey, a BJP MP from Buxar in Bihar, also told the British Prime Minister that his constituency was believed to be the place where Lord Ram and his brother Lakshman had studied under the tutelage of Vishwamitra, according to a press release issued by the office of the minister. Sunak was accompanied by his wife Akshata Murthy.
Akshata is the daughter of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and his Sudha Murthy.
This is the first visit of Rishi Sunak to New Delhi after he took over as the British Prime Minister in October 2022.
Choubey told Sunak that India was the land of his ancestors and people were happy as he had come to visit the country.
Sunak had on August 15, Independence Day of India, attended a 'Ram katha' by spiritual preacher Morari Bapu at Cambridge University. “I am here today not as a Prime Minister but as a Hindu,” he said after hailing “Jai Shri Ram”.
“I've landed in Delhi ahead of the G20 summit. I am meeting world leaders to address some of the challenges that impact every one of us. Only together can we get the job done," Sunak posted on X after arriving in the national capital of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Sunak and said he was looking forward to a fruitful summit. “Welcome Rishi Sunak! Looking forward to a fruitful Summit where we can work together for a better planet,” Modi said on X.
Sunak and Modi will have a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the G20 summit on Saturday.
Sunak and Akshata on Friday visited the British Council in New Delhi and interacted with the staff and students.
"Before meeting the world leaders of today I've been meeting with the world leaders of tomorrow. It's been fantastic to visit students and staff here at @inBritish (British Council in India) -- a reflection of the living bridge that exists between the UK and India," Sunak wrote on X.