PM Modi completed his first trip abroad this week to Italy during his third term, 4 days after being sworn and even before his confidence vote, indicating the importance of the G7 outreach for him. India was one of 12 countries invited to the resort town of Fasano in Italy’s Apulia region- part of Italian PM Melonis’s push to involve the Global South with the G7, which is seen as an elitist grouping- and in her words to end the notion of the West vs the Rest, where she invited Pope Francis who addressed the G7 for the first time.
During his 24 hour visit, Mr. Modi met with some of the world leaders- holding bilateral talks with the leaders of France, Germany, Japan, Italy and UK. However, he only exchanged greetings, no formal meeting with US President Biden….and a handshake with Canadian PM Trudeau, given tensions in India-Canada ties.
Ukraine President Zelenskyy also met PM Modi, just before the Swiss Peace conference on Ukraine got underway- while India offered its support to finding a peaceful resolution through “dialogue and diplomacy” there, PM Modi declined the invitation, sending instead an MEA delegation to Lucerne, where the action moves now.
Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar
Production: Yuvasree S
