World / Australia's PM makes samosas, says 'Would have liked to share them with PM Modi'

Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made an Indian snack - the popular samosa - and wants to share it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He shared the images of the snack, and mango chutney along with it, on his Twitter feed on Sunday and named it ScoMosas.

“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 and tagged PM Modi.

The tweet has so far garnered 32,000 likes.

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. pic.twitter.com/Sj7y4Migu9

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) May 31, 2020

In a reply to Morrison’s tweet, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said: “Proposing your name for Michelin Star.”

The two Prime Ministers are scheduled to hold a virtual meeting on June 4 that is expected to see an intensification of ties in the economic and strategic spheres.

This will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first bilateral summit to take place virtually given the embargos on travel due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison who was to come to India in January for the summit had to put off his visit due to the devastating wildfires ravaging large parts of his country. The visit was being planned for May but now the summit is to happen on 4 June, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday.

The two countries are expected to sign an agreement for reciprocal access to military logistics facilities and other pacts aimed at developing alternative supply chains during the summit.

The summit between PM Modi and PM Morrison will be held against the backdrop of heightened friction with China for both countries.

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, the two sides had been exploring the possibility of cooperating on rare earth metals such as lithium, neodymium and dysprosium, of which Australia has the world’s sixth largest reserves. More than 90% of India’s imports of rare earth metals, worth $3.4 million in 2016, come from China.