PM Modi arrives in Italy for G7 summit outreach meeting, bilateral talks with world leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves New Delhi for Italy on June 13. | Photo credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Puglia, southern Italy, to attend the outreach session of the G7 summit and hold bilateral talks on a wide range of issues with world leaders on June 14.

The Indian Prime Minister has arrived at Brindisi airport in Italy to attend the G7 summit, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a video message from the airport.

Tomorrow (June 14) will be a busy day for him. We have several bilateral meetings planned with world leaders. He will also address the G7 summit's outreach session, he said.

During his day-long visit, Mr. Modi will participate in a summit session titled Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa-Mediterranean, hosted by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and joined by Pope Francis. The pope is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Modi, who has planned a series of meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit being held at the luxury Borgo Egnazia resort.

“I look forward to meeting other world leaders and discussing a wide range of issues aimed at making our planet better and improving people's lives,” Mr. Modi said in a departure statement on June 13 in the evening.

He said he was “happy” that his first foreign visit during his third consecutive term as prime minister was to Italy for the G7 summit.

I fondly remember my visit to Italy for the G20 Summit in 2021. Prime Minister Meloni's two visits to India last year helped inject momentum and depth into our bilateral agenda. We remain committed to consolidating the India-Italy strategic partnership and strengthening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean regions, he said in his statement.

During the discussions of the awareness session, the focus will be on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean. This will be an opportunity to bring greater synergy between the outcomes of the G20 summit held under the Indian presidency and the upcoming G7 summit and deliberate on crucial issues for the Global South. I also look forward to meeting other leaders participating in the summit, he added.

India hosted the G20 summit in New Delhi last September, which was also attended by world leaders gathered at the Puglia meeting held under the Italian presidency. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni will welcome Mr. Modi as President of the Italian Council of Ministers on June 14.

In his June 13 opening speech at the G7 leaders' meeting, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the President of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel said southern Italy was chosen as the location to send a strong message to the global South.

It is no coincidence that we are organizing the summit in Puglia. We did it because Puglia is a region in southern Italy and the message we want to send is that the G7, under the Italian presidency, wants to strengthen its dialogue with southern nations, Ms Meloni said in his opening speech.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is expected to dominate the agenda with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arriving for talks on June 13. While India has reiterated its stance on dialogue and diplomacy as the best approach, Mr Sunak is calling for decisive efforts to support Ukraine whatever the cost.

We must be determined and creative in our efforts to support Ukraine and end [Russian President] Putin is waging an illegal war at this critical time, said Mr Sunak, who announced bilateral aid of up to £242 million to Ukraine to meet the country's immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilization needs, and to throw the foundations of longer-term economic and social development. recovery and reconstruction. During his press briefing prior to his visit, Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra recalled Mr. Modi's declaration in September 2022 that “today's era is not that of war”.

“We have always been at the forefront in offering assistance wherever we can to alleviate the challenges faced by the countries of the South due to the conflict, humanitarian aid to Ukraine as well as countries of the South affected by the conflict,” he said.

The foreign minister said India would continue to share its views with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Besides India, Italy has invited leaders of 11 developing countries from Africa, South America and the Indo-Pacific region to attend the G7 summit.