New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held talks with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in the Italian capital Rome.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted, “On the sidelines of the @g20org Rome Summit, PM@narendramodi interacted with various leaders.”
The leaders who attended the summit also posed for a group photo.
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“World leaders meeting in Rome for the @g20org summit, an important multilateral forum for the global good,” the PMO posted on the micro-blogging platform.
Prime Minister Modi also had “productive discussions” with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
“Helpful discussion on the sidelines of the @g20org summit between PM @narendramodi and President @EmmanuelMacron. India and France are cooperating extensively in various fields. Today’s talks will give impetus to the bilateral ties between the two countries,” the PMO tweeted.
Prime Minister Modi is participating in the summit along with other heads of state from G-20 member states, European Union and other invited countries and international organizations.
This year’s summit focuses on the theme – People, Planet, Prosperity. The focus of the summit is on economic and health reform, climate change and sustainable development.
The focus was on the economy and global health during the inaugural session of the 16th G-20 summit.
Participating in the first individual summit since the coronavirus pandemic began, world leaders attending the G-20 summit will focus on economic recovery post covid-19, global minimum corporate tax rate and climate change, among others.
The leaders attending the summit are expected to formally reaffirm their commitment to establish a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent by 2023.
The move focuses on preventing multinational companies from collecting profits in countries where they pay little or no tax.
The US President, German Chancellor, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also discussed next steps on Iran’s nuclear program on the sidelines of the summit.
Prime Minister Modi, who arrived in Rome this morning, will join other G20 leaders tomorrow to discuss issues including global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development and climate change, among others.
“The primary objective of his visit is to attend the 16th G-20 summit. But he is also using this opportunity to have a number of bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government. Following his arrival, the Prime Minister called on the President of the European Council, His Excellency Mr. Charles Michel; and the President of the European Commission, Her Excellency Ms Ursula von der Leyen,” said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi met Pope Francis in Vatican City, where they discussed “various issues”.
This was the first one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis in which he invited the head of the Catholic Church to visit India.
The Prime Minister shared photos from his meeting with the Pope on Twitter and wrote: “Very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a range of issues with him and also received an invitation to visit India.
The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State for Vatican City State.
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Prime Minister Modi had earlier met his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
In his first personal meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Modi congratulated his Italian counterpart for successfully hosting the G-20 amid the global pandemic.
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