As he alighted from the aircraft, PM Modi was greeted by Marape who then bent down to touch his feet.
Papua New Guinea has a tradition of not welcoming anyone post sunset but PM Modi was given a gun salute, a red carpet welcome and was personally welcomed by Marape.
PM Modi is in Papua New Guinea to host the third summit of the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation on May 22, jointly with his counterpart James Marape.
The PM’s visit to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his three-nation tour is the first ever by any Indian prime minister.
He arrived here from Japan where he attended the summit of the G7 advanced economies and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders.
“I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important summit (FIPIC),” PM Modi had said earlier.
The FIPIC Summit will see participation from leaders of 14 countries. Normally all of them rarely converge together due to connectivity and other issues. PIC includes Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
(With inputs from agencies)