Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India participated as an ‘Outreach nation’ in the G7 Summit held at the luxurious Borgo Engnazia resort in Italy’s Apulia region. During the summit, PM Modi met Pope Francis at the Outreach Session and had conversations with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This visit marked PM Modi’s first overseas trip since beginning his third term as Prime Minister.
#WATCH | Italy: Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni receives Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India participates as an ‘Outreach nation’ in G7 Summit pic.twitter.com/Sqna3AEu9X
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2024
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Pope Francis at Outreach Session of G7 Summit in Italy. The Prime Minister also strikes up a conversation with British PM Rishi Sunak. pic.twitter.com/BNIpfK6lIN
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2024
PM Modi held bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
After his meeting with President Zelensky, PM Modi described the discussions as productive and expressed India’s eagerness to strengthen bilateral relations with Ukraine. Addressing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi reiterated India’s commitment to a human-centric approach, emphasising that dialogue and diplomacy are the keys to peace.
Regarding his meeting with President Macron, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X: “Taking Strategic Partnership to new levels! PM @narendramodi met President @EmmanuelMacron of France on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy”. Jaiswal added that the two leaders discussed strengthening their partnership in defence, nuclear, space, education, climate action, digital public infrastructure critical technologies, connectivity, and culture, and exchanged views on global and regional issues.
The summit’s first day was dominated by discussions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with leaders agreeing on a US proposal to back a $50-billion loan to Kyiv using frozen Russian assets. US President Joe Biden described this agreement as a “significant outcome” and a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his departure statement, PM Modi expressed his pleasure in making his first foreign visit of his third term to Italy for the G7 Summit. “I warmly recall my visit to Italy for the G20 Summit in 2021. Prime Minister Meloni’s two visits to India last year were instrumental in infusing momentum and depth into our bilateral agenda. We remain committed to consolidating the India-Italy strategic partnership and bolstering cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean regions,” he stated.
In her opening address at the G7 meeting, PM Meloni talked about the significance of hosting the summit in southern Italy. “It is no coincidence that we are hosting the summit in Apulia. We did this because Apulia is a region of southern Italy and the message we want to launch is that the G7, under the Italian presidency, wishes to strengthen its dialogue with the nations of the Global South,” she said.
Italy is India’s fourth-largest trading partner in the European Union, with bilateral trade amounting to $15 billion.
