Rio de Janeiro: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday (local time) held a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the meeting, the leaders, who are often dubbed as "Melodi", discussed enhancing cooperation in trade, investment, and technology while exploring ways to strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties.
"Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade and technology. We also talked about how to boost cooperation in culture, education and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet," PM Modi wrote on social media platform after holding meeting.
PM Modi posted picture with Meloni after meeting
What happened during the last bilateral meeting?
When the duo met in Italy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, both leaders noted with satisfaction the regular higher political dialogue and reviewed the progress of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership. While expressing happiness at growing trade and economic collaboration, they had called for expanding commercial ties in clean energy, manufacturing, Space, S&T, telecom, AI and critical minerals to build resilient supply chains. In this context, they welcomed the recent signing of a MoU on Industrial Property Rights (IPR) which provides a framework for cooperation on patents, designs and trademarks.
The two sides had discussed bilateral defence and security cooperation and hoped to further enhance the defence-industrial collaboration. They had welcomed the forthcoming visit of the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and training ship ITS Vespucci to India later this year. PM Modi thanked the Italian Government for recognizing the Indian Army’s contribution to the Italian Campaign during WW-II and informed that India will be upgrading the Yashwant Ghadge Memorial at Montone in Italy.
PM Modi's other bilateral talks
PM Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store during the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Earlier, PM Modi met with leaders from Indonesia and Portugal on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil. In his discussions, PM Modi emphasised strengthening ties with both nations in areas such as commerce and defence.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, shared on X that PM Modi assured Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto of expanding the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "India-Indonesia: Commemorating 75 years of warm and friendly ties! PM Narendra Modi met President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 Brazil Summit. PM congratulated President Prabowo and assured him of expanding the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both in existing domains and by exploring newer areas," Jaiswal wrote on X.
