Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott embraces Modi as he officially welcomes leaders to the G20 summit in Brisbane yesterday.

IANS/Brisbane

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said the repatriation of black money kept abroad was a key priority and called for “close co-ordination” on the issue during an informal meeting of the five-nation Brics leaders here ahead of the G20 summit.

The prime minister told the leaders of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa that “repatriation of unaccounted money kept abroad is a key priority for us,” according to tweets posted by external affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

Modi also said that Brics should set 2016 as the target for the inauguration of the Brics Bank.

India is the fifth member of the group.

The ministry of external affairs, tweeting about the speech, wrote: “At Brics meet ahead of G-20 PM @narendramodi calls for ‘Close co-ordination on unaccounted money kept abroad’.”

“Unaccounted money abroad is also linked to security challenges - PM @narendramodi ahead of G-20 Summit in Brisbane,” said the MEA tweet.

In his departure statement on November 11 before leaving on his tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji, the prime minister had said he would highlight the importance of global co-operation against black money at the G20, which kicked off here yesterday.

The informal meeting of Brics is an event held on the sidelines of the G20.

Modi thanked Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff for hosting the Brics  Leaders’ Meeting and congratulated her on her re-election.

Later in the day Modi also spoke of the need for reform - to make it people-driven and that it should lead to simplification of processes.

Speaking at a retreat and lunch before the G20 summit formally started, Modi said reform should be technology driven and should address the root causes.

“Reform is a continuous multi-stage process... it must be institutionalized. Globally, reforms are handicapped with perception of being government programmes, a burden on the people; this needs to change,” Modi said.

Modi was much sought after at the summit with world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, spending time chatting and laughing with him.

At the G20 retreat, Modi was seen chatting with Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Abbott had thrown in a barbecue lunch for the retreat.

The Australian prime minister tweeted a photo of Modi sharing a lighter moment with Obama and himself during the retreat.

“The BBQ lunch with @narendramodi and @BarackObama was an opportunity for #G20 Leaders to talk in a relaxed atmosphere,” Abbott posted.

Earlier, Abbott warmly welcomed Modi to the G20.

As they shook hands, Modi, attired in a black bandhgala suit, embraced the Australian premier.

The Age, which has been posting comments and photos of the event live, said of the Abbott-Modi hug:

“The stand out shake so far has been India’s Prime Minister Modi, who gave Abbott a hug. An ‘awww’ could be heard across the media centre.”

“There were no hugs from Abbott besties David Cameron and Stephen Harper. We repeat, no hugs,” it said.

The Guardian, in an article on Modi titled ‘Narendra Modi: from international pariah to the G20’s political rock star’, wrote that the Indian prime minister “is one of the most popular figures at this G20. A leader others want to see, and be seen with.”

The G20 membership comprises a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product and over 75% of global trade.

The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain, the US and the European Union.

Meanwhile, Modi met his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper on the margins of the summit and emphasised on strong ties between the two countries.