PM Modi meets Italian counterpart Meloni on G20 Summit sidelines

JOHANNESBURG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in South Africa, engaging in discussions and sharing a warm moment. Their interaction was marked by smiles, handshakes, and warm greetings, highlighting the strong bond between India and Italy.

The two leaders were seen shaking hands, exchanging smiles, and sharing a light-hearted, candid conversation before the summit sessions began.

Videos of the interaction quickly circulated online, highlighting their personal rapport, as noted at other global events such as the G7 Summit in June 2025.

This meeting followed their previous interaction at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, earlier in the year. Their strong relationship has been a talking point in diplomatic circles, further emphasised by PM Modi’s preface to the Indian edition of Meloni’s book I Am Giorgia, in which he highlighted the shared civilizational links between India and Italy.

The leaders held a bilateral meeting. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal were also present during the meeting.

Earlier on Saturday, the Italian PM had shared pictures from the G20 Summit’s first session. She posted photos with the G20 President, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Fully agree with you, PM Giorgia Meloni. India’s friendship with Italy will continue to get stronger, greatly benefitting our people!@GiorgiaMeloni https://t.co/LaYIIZn8Ry

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2025

The leaders had a conversation earlier in September with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reaffirming both nations’ commitment to strengthening the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and to cooperating on pressing global challenges, including the conflict in Ukraine.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “Had an excellent conversation with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. We reaffirmed our joint commitment to deepen India-Italy Strategic Partnership, and shared interest in bringing an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.”

“Thanked PM Meloni for Italy’s proactive support for concluding a mutually beneficial India-EU trade agreement and promoting connectivity through the IMEEEC initiative,” the post added.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the leaders reviewed and positively assessed developments in the bilateral Strategic Partnership across sectors such as investment, defence, security, space, science & technology, education, people-to-people ties, and counter-terrorism.

Further, MEA noted that “both leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards further deepening of the Partnership, in line with the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29.”

They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. They agreed on the need for an early and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. PM Modi reiterated India’s full support for efforts in this direction.

Prime Minister Meloni reiterated Italy’s strong support for the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-EU Free Trade Agreement and for the success of the AI Impact Summit to be hosted by India in 2026. The leaders also agreed on taking steps to promote connectivity under the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEEC) initiative, MEA stated.

The leaders had earlier met in June this year on the sidelines of the 51st G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.

PM Modi expressed his enthusiasm for the growing friendship between India and Italy, stating that their bilateral relationship will continue to strengthen, benefiting both nations.

Prima sessione #G20SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/FZK5yQgvdk

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 22, 2025

The camaraderie between PM Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been making waves on social media, with their interactions sparking a trending hashtag #Melodi.

PM Modi and Meloni have showcased their friendly rapport in videos and selfies, including one taken during the COP28 summit in Dubai, where Meloni captioned the photo “Good friends at COP28, #Melodi”.

Their friendly interaction marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough between Italy and India, with both leaders expressing enthusiasm for collaborative efforts in areas such as sustainability, energy, and industry.

In December 2023, the two leaders had clicked a selfie on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai. While sharing the picture with PM Modi on X, Meloni had stated, “Good friends at COP28, #Melodi.” (ANI)