Modi invites Pope to India; meets world leaders at G7 Summit
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Pope Francis at G7 Outreach Summit in Italy.
Following a handshake and a warm hug, Modi briefly interacted with the Pope.
The Prime Minister also invited Pope to visit India.
“Met Pope Francis on the sidelines of the @G7 Summit. I admire his commitment to serving people and making our planet better. Also invited him to visit India,” said Modi in a post on X.
The 87-year-old head of the worldwide Catholic Church was taken around the table in a wheelchair to greet each of the world leaders gathered at the summit venue.
Modi who arrived in Italy's Apulia on Thursday late night, also interacted with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Bilateral meeting with Macron
During a bilateral meeting, Modi and Macron reviewed India-France bilateral relations, focusing on the 'Horizon 2047' Roadmap and the Indo-Pacific Roadmap.
The PIB said that discussions included cooperation in defence, nuclear, space, education, climate action, digital public infrastructure, connectivity and cultural initiatives such as the National Museum partnership and enhancing people-to-people ties. They agreed to further intensify strategic defence cooperation with increased focus on ‘Make in India’.
The two leaders also exchanged views on key global and regional issues.
Meeting with Rishi Sunak
Modi also held a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak where the two leaders reaffirmed the shared commitment of both countries to further strengthen bilateral relations.
The leaders discussed the implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and expressed happiness on progress in all areas of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership including regular high level political consultations, defence and security, trade and economic collaboration, critical and high technology sectors and people-to-people ties, said PIB in a release.
Modi and Sunak also expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the two countries. Both leaders also discussed regional and multilateral matters of mutual interest.
Meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Apart from Macron and Sunak, Modi held a bilateral meeting with the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and the upcoming Summit on Peace being hosted by Switzerland.
Modi conveyed that India continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, and reiterated that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch, said PIB.
