On his first overseas visit in the third term, Modi would join global leaders in attending the G7 summit, which will be held in in Italy’s Apulia from June 13-15…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Italy later this week, days after being sworn into office for a record third term on Sunday.
On his first overseas visit in the third term, Modi would join global leaders in attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held in Borgo Egnazia (Fasano) in Italy’s Apulia from June 13-15. Modi is likely to reach the summit on June 14 for one day.
Notably, Italy and India elevated their bilateral relations to “strategic partnership” during the visit of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to New Delhi in March 2023.
The G7 summit in Italy is one of the reasons why the guest list of international leaders for Modi’s swearing-in ceremony was kept compact.
Top leaders of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Seychelles attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi. The officials informed that this guest list was guided by New Delhi’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ which focuses on key island nations in the Indian Ocean region.
“Spoke with PM Giorgia Meloni and extended greetings as Italy celebrates its Liberation day today. Thanked her for the invite to the G7 summit in June. Discussed taking forward G20 India outcomes at the G7. Reaffirmed commitment to deepening our Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in a social media post on April 25.
The G7 summit is an informal international forum with Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US as its member nations. The president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission will also attend the event to represent the European Union.
Italy assumed the presidency of the forum on January 1 this year.
Notably, following the G7 summit’s conclusion, Switzerland is scheduled to host the Ukraine peace summit over the weekend, in which 90 countries and organisations (half from Europe) will participate to chart a path towards possible peace in Ukraine. However, India is unlikely to attend this summit, media reports said.
‘Modi may visit Nepal’
Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to look into the possibility of visiting Nepal after attending the G7 Summit in Italy.
Upon arrival in Kathmandu after attending PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in Delhi, Dahal, said at a press briefing on Monday that he extended an invitation to PM Modi for a visit to Nepal.
He said, “I extended invitation to Mr. (Narendra) Modi to visit Nepal. He responded positively, promising to visit in appropriate time. He also stated that he has to attend the G7 Summit meeting to be held in Italy. He also said that he might come to Nepal after returning from the summit.”
Notably, the G7 Summit will be held in Italy on June 13-15, 2024. The event will bring together the Leaders of the seven-member States, as well as the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission representing the European Union.
Dahal held a brief meeting with PM Modi after his swearing-in ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday evening. At the invitation of the Indian PM, Dahal on Sunday had travelled to Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of their Indian counterpart.
During the meeting, Dahal congratulated PM Modi and conveyed his optimism regarding the trajectory of the longstanding friendship between the two countries.
“Had a meeting with Shri @narendramodi ji. I congratulated him on his third consecutive term as Prime Minister of India. We discussed ways to further enhance Nepal-India relations. I am confident that our multifaceted relations with India will prosper under his leadership,” Nepal PM posted on X.
Minister for External Affairs, S Jaishankar also called upon Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ during his two-day visit to Nepal.
Sharing details regarding his meeting with Jaishankar, Dahal stated that the issues of boundaries and revitalization of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) were discussed with the External Affairs Minister.
Nepal PM said, “While holding the delegation level talks with Mr (S Jaishankar), I raised topics about revitalization of SAARC to the border issues and other trade-related issues and mechanisms which exists in between two nations. I focused on reviving of those mechanisms and start the dialogues to resolve all the issues. I raised these issues while having meeting with Prime Minister Modi during yesterday’s (9 June) meeting and this morning (10 June) while holding talks with Mr (S) Jaishankar, all the mechanisms, including the SAARC should be revived, and start dialogue over the issues. In this relation, there was positive response from the Prime Minister as well as the External Affairs Minister.”