Highlights
- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will hold a 'virtual meeting' with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on 4 June 2020.
- Mr Morrison has shared a picture of him making samosas.
- Mr Modi responded that the two leaders will enjoy samosas together once COVID-19 is over
Newland Global Group general manager Natasha Jha Bhaskar says the samosa tweet by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a pleasant reminder of seeing the positives even in grim times.
“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,” Mr Morrison said in a tweet on Sunday.
Indian Prime Minister responded warmly with a hope to enjoy the Samosas together.
“Once we achieve a decisive victory against COVID-19, we will enjoy the Samosas together. Looking forward to our video meet on the 4th,” PM Modi said, responding to PM Morrison on Twitter.
Ms Jha Bhaskar says what we witnessed yesterday was not just sheer symbolism.
“It was primarily this whole effort to culturally assimilate with a country, to its people for whom food is such an integral part, and what better way to reach out to the hearts of a billion-plus population for whom samosa is a very tasty Indian snack that is offered to friends who visit their home. So it is also a symbol of warmth and connection,” says Ms Jha.
What are the expectations from June 4th summit? Listen to Natasha Jha Bhaskar analysing the possibilities:
“I hope that Australia-India relations are as crisp, craved for and intensely detailed just the way you fold and fill the samosa and have all the right ingredients as Prime Minister Morrison’s Scomosa are,” she said.
Ms Bhaskar dismisses that Prime Minister Morrison’s picture furthers the cliché of three Cs (Curry, Cricket and Commonwealth) which are often used while talking about commonalities between India and Australia.
“I’m not very sure if we have even capitalised on these three C’s,” says Ms Jha Bhaskar.
“I’ve heard a lot of people saying that it’s only about cricket, commonwealth and curry but I have not een these components being fully capitalised in this relationship.”
“I would really think that just as much it is an opportunity to work on these particular dimensions where we are natural partners, also try to explore new synergies. And I’m very very hopeful that the 4th June virtual summit between Australia and India will actually be an opportunity for both the countries to identify these synergies,” says Ms Bhaskar.
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