Modi meets Pope Francis

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday met Pope Francis at Vatican City and invited him to visit India.

Although the meeting between PM Modi and the pope was scheduled for only 20 minutes, it went on for nearly an hour. They discussed several topics such as climate change and eradicating poverty.

Modi tweeted: “Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India @Pontifex”

Modi is in Italy for the G20 Summit; he arrived in Italy on October 29, Friday and will leave on October 31.

Later on in the day, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to meet a host of world leaders, again on the sidelines of the G20 summit. These include meetings with French president Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian president Joko Widodo and Singapore prime minister Lee Hosein Loong.

This is the eighth G20 summit attended by Modi. Last year’s summit was held virtually because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The theme of this G20 meet under the Italian Presidency is centred around ‘People, Planet and Prosperity.’

On Sunday, PM Modi is expected to have a meeting with Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the G20 summit, ANI has reported.

Modi will also be participating in discussions on “Climate Change and Environment and Sustainable Development”.

From Rome, PM Modi will travel to Glasgow, the UK, at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

(PTI, ANI; Picture Courtesy: Twitter – narendramodi)