At a glance : Foreign visits of PM Narendra Modi in first 6 months

New Delhi: Narendra Modi visited Nepal for the second time after taking charge as India's Prime Minister. His foreign tours have been pretty successful considering the huge fanfare and the great media attention that PM Modi received during his each tour.While the critics and the opposition parties are calling him a ‘NRI PM' but the fact cannot be denied that it is during the last six months only that everyone is looking towards India with renewed enthusiasm.PM Modi has visited eight countries till now and has spent more than 31 days on foreign soil trying to enhance India's image on a global arena. Let us take a sneak peek at all the tours that PM Modi has undetook so far: Bhutan: June 15-16, 2014:Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to visit Bhutan first after he took over as PM, to cement India's “unique and special relationship” with the neighbouring country. He was received by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at the Paro airport and was given a ceremonial guard of honour.He was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh. He said that his two-day visit to the Himalayan kingdom Sunday is "bound by common interests and shared prosperity, India and Bhutan enjoy a unique and special relationship, which has been forged by ties of geography, history and culture."Therefore, Bhutan as the destination for my first visit abroad as the prime minister is a natural choice. Relations with Bhutan will be a key foreign policy priority of my government."The prime minister said he would review with the Bhutanese leadership on making the "development cooperation programme" between the two countries "even more effective". He addresses Parliament of Bhutan in Hindi and laid foundation for a new hydel-power project. Brazil:July 13-17, 2014:Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made his first foray into international diplomacy when he attended the sixth summit of BRICS countries from July 15-16.It was also the first occasion for PM Modi, who took office on May 26, to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and also the leaders of Brazil and South Africa.The summit was held in Brazilian cities of Fortaleza and Brasilia.The officials said Modi would be accompanied by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.The BRICS Development bank, an idea which was conceived in Delhi in 2012 and approved in Durban last year, is to be set up with an initial corpus of USD 50 billion, with scope for expansion upto USD 100 billion when new members are added. August 3-4, 2014: NepalNepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who was in New Delhi during Modi's swearing-in ceremony in May, received his Indian counterpart at the Tribhuvan International Airport."The Prime Minister NarendraModi reaches Nepal, first bilateral trip by an Indian Prime Minister to Nepal in 17 years. PM Narendra Modi is being welcomed by dignitaries at Kathmandu airport," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.“I have returned to this beautiful country as a friend and I am happy to come here as Prime Minister,” said Modi in Nepali language before continuing his speech in Hindi. Modi recalled that he had visited Nepal as pilgrim long ago.PM Modi forged a new relationship with Nepal and started a "new chapter" in bilateral ties that will serve as a model and catalyst for regional partnership between the two countries. Japan: August 30-September 3, 2014:The Indian Prime Minister said the most important thing that existed between the two nations was the special strategic and global partnership that they had agreed to forge."In my view these aren't just words or a shift in category. We are very serious about this and we are confident that this new partnership will have an important role to play in the future," Modi said.Modi said that Abe has promised that Japan will participate in India's plan for inclusive development.The Indian Prime Minister welcomed the decision by the Japanese Prime Minister to invest Rs 2.10 lakh crore in the Indian economy through private and public funds for infrastructure funding. The two countries signed a statement of intent to continue talks on the nuclear deal, officials said after summit talks between the two leaders in Tokyo.But, both the countries agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation in various sectors with Tokyo on Monday committing to double its direct investment in India from $2 billion last year to 3.5 trillion yen in next five years. USA: September 25-October 1, 2014:In their first summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama pledged to push the bilateral relationship to “new levels”, resolve issues blocking implementation of the civil nuclear deal and cooperate in counter terrorism.During their hour-long discussions, which covered a broad range of issues including economic cooperation, trade and investment, Modi raised the demand for easier access to Indian services in the US.After the two countries reached an agreement on extending their defence cooperation for ten more years, the Prime Minister invited American companies to participate in Indian defence manufacturing sector.The discussions, the first formal meeting between the two leaders spread over delegation and restricted levels, covered terrorism in South Asia and emerging threats in West Asia. Myanmar, Australia & Fiji: November 11-20, 2014:Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 12th ASEAN-India Summit in MyanmarPM Modi arrived in the Myanmar capital by a special Air India plane on the first leg of his three-nation 10-day tour yesterday.As soon as Modi arrived, he held a meeting with the Myanmar President Thein Sein. In the short meeting of 45-minutes, the leaders of the two countries focused on issues related to connectivity, cultural contacts and commercial ties."Narendra and I." Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said this at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi after a summit talks while stressing how the two countries were expanding their cooperation in various areas.The personal warmth Abbott shared with Modi was reflected yet again at a reception at the iconic 161-year-old Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where he said Modi is like a "brother.""Narendra and I," said Abbott on couple of occasions while referring to the determination of the two leaders to work together to help strengthening of relations.Abbott had urged world leaders to speak from the heart rather than a script at the summit of the Group of 20 industrialised and major emerging economies at Brisbane.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a traditional iTaukei ceremonial welcome at the Albert Park in Fiji. Modi is the first Indian prime minister to visit Fiji in 33 years.Earlier, Modi was received at the airport by Prime Minister Bainimarama. 18th Saarc Summit: Modi arrived in Nepal on November 25 to attend the Summit slated for November 26-27. The 18th SAARC Summit was held with focus on deeper integration among the eight South Asian neighbours. Furthering his ‘neighbourhood first' policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Bangladesh and Nepal and Sri Lankan President and discussed matters of common concern, including terrorism, while affirming his commitment to make SAARC a strong regional block. During the meetings, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala congratulated Modi on his first UN speech and promised full support for his initiative of having an International Yoga Day.