PM Modi is in Rome to attend the two-day G20 summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi - in Italy on a two-day visit to attend the G20 summit - paid tribute to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Rome today.
"In Rome I had the opportunity to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi whose ideals are a source of courage and inspiration for millions of people around the world," the Prime Minister tweeted in Italian today, before posting another tweet with the English translation.
Prime Minister Modi landed in Rome earlier today; he tweeted: "Landed in Rome to take part in the G20 summit - an important forum to deliberate on key global issues. I also look forward to other programmes through this visit to Rome."
"This will be the first in-person summit since the outbreak of the pandemic and will allow us to take stock of the current global situation and exchange ideas on how the G20 can be an engine for strengthening economic resilience and building back inclusively and sustainably from the pandemic."
Ahead of the summit (to be held over the weekend), the Prime Minister took part in a joint meeting with Charles Michel (President of the European Council) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), according to news agency ANI.
After the meeting Ms von der Leyen congratulated India on "excellent progress" in its vaccination drive. "I congratulated India for its excellent progress on vaccination and for resuming vaccines exports. We need to join forces to help vaccinate the world and beat the pandemic," she said, according to PTi.
India this month administered its billionth Covid vaccine.
This evening the PM will attend a reception at the residence of his Italian counterpart, Mario Draghi.
Tomorrow PM Modi is scheduled to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican before attending the first session of the summit - Global Economy and Global Health.
Saturday's schedule will also include a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France; the French will hold a general election in April next year. PM Modi will also meet President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Lee Hosein Loong of Singapore.
On Sunday, apart from the sessions at the summit, PM Modi is expected to meet Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Sunday's G20 discussions will focus on Climate Change, and Environment and Sustainable Development; there will also be a global summit on supply chain resilience, sources said.
The G20 is a global forum whose members account for over 80 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of global population.
The summit is attended by heads of state, governments of G20 countries, the European Union, and other invited nations, as well as select international organisations.
With input from ANI, PTI