Modi, Australian PM get into Samosa Diplomacy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on Sunday had a bit of “samosa” diplomacy on Sunday – just days before they are going to hold a virtual summit.

Morrison tried his hands at making “samosa” at his home in Canberra on Sunday and posted the pictures of the snacks on Twitter. He, however, called the snacks – “ScoMosas” – naming it after himself. He also added “mango chutney” to make the “ScoMosas” all the more delicious.

And, he wished he could share it with Modi, his counterpart in New Delhi

“Sunday ScoMosas with mango chutney, all made from scratch - including the chutney! A pity my meeting with @narendramodi this week is by videolink. They’re vegetarian, I would have liked to share them with him,” Morrison posted on Twitter.

Modi and Morrison are scheduled to hold a bilateral summit through video-link on Thursday. This is the first bilateral summit the Prime Minister will hold virtually with a foreign counterpart, after he and many other world leaders had to suspend overseas travels in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister warmly responded to the tweet by his counterpart in Australia.

“Connected by the Indian Ocean, united by the Indian Samosa! Looks delicious, PM @ScottMorrisonMP! Once we achieve a decisive victory against COVID-19, we will enjoy the Samosas together. Looking forward to our video meet on the 4th,” Modi replied to Scott on Twitter.

Morrison would been the first foreign leader to visit New Delhi and meet Modi in 2020. But his visit – scheduled from January 13 to 16 – had to be indefinitely postponed as he had to cancel all foreign tours to remain in Canberra and oversee efforts to control a devastating bushfire in southeastern Australia.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed to contain it making it difficult to reschedule Morrison’s visit to New Delhi, he and Modi finally decided to hold a virtual summit through video-conferencing.

"Looks delicious, PM @ScottMorrisonMP. Once we achieve a decisive victory against COVID-19, we will enjoy the Samosas together. Looking forward to our video meet on the 4th," Modi said.