New Delhi, June 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been deeply humbled when Presidents of two nations- Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan personally held an umbrella for him. Usually, it is the security staff who are normally carry out such tasks. In the first incident, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek on a two-day visit, he was given a ceremonial welcome by the Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
During the welcome, it started raining following which the President was seen holding an umbrella for the PM Modi. The Prime Minister was in Kyrgyzstan to attend the summit of eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Presidents of Sri Lanka & Kyrgyzstan hold umbrella for PM Modi: See Pics
Different places, same special gestures: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov hold the umbrella themselves instead of security staff and walk with PM Modi. pic.twitter.com/lUKVxcWCpw
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) June 14, 2019
A similar scene was witnessed in Sri Lanka, when Narendra Modi, on this stopover, was accorded a ceremonial welcome by President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo. In a photograph shared by Prasar Bharati News Services on Twitter, Sirisena is seen holding an umbrella and providing cover to himself and Modi. The gesture, however, left the Prime Minister untouched.
The Prime Minister held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that strategic communication had improved between India and China which has led to resolution of some long-pending issues including declaring JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. According to reports, Modi also hoped that there will be a significant uptake in India's exports to China due to ease in regulatory processes.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2019 03:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).