diploMacy// It is not Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping or Shinzo Abe or Angela Merkel — leaders of the five most powerful countries of the world — who was the most sought after at the East Asia and G-20 Summits. Instead, it was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elected to the high office only six months ago, who has received maximum requests for bilateral meetings from his counterparts and heads of state on the sidelines of East Asia, ASEAN and G-20 Summits in Myanmar and Australia in November.

This was also Modi’s first outing in both East Asia and the G20 Summit. Understandably there was interest among other leaders to interact with him, sources claimed. “The interest was also due to the fact that these countries want to step up economic engagement with India and they sense an opportunity under the Modi government to increase trade and investments,” an official indicated.