Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an hour-long meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican City
"Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India." - Modi tweets
Governance failure in Afghanistan, threat perception must be watched, says PM Modi
New Delhi:
India has maintained for once that there should be a "distinction" between those who govern Afghanistan as of now, the Taliban, and those who are common people in that country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has categorically told his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi. and European Union leaders that the situation of Afghanistan could not be seen in isolation and that the "failure and inability" to provide good governance must be watched carefully.
"The Prime Minister was quite categorical that the situation of Afghanistan could not be seen in isolation, that the failure and inability to provide good governance, the failure to be able to deal with the situation, as it stands, had also to be a subject of introspection," Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla told reporters in Rome after PM's meetings with Draghi and President of the European Council, Charles Michel; and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
He said, "....let us say, any form of intimidation or threat that would emerge out of Afghanistan, I think, is something that the international community would have to watch out very carefully for".
The Prime Minister also did point out that the "root causes of the problems in Afghanistan had to be actively looked into, which is essentially, radicalism and extremism, and terrorism", which is a consequence of this had to be very, very carefully examined.
"So I think there was a strong sentiment, which was fully understood both by our partners in the European Union and in Italy," the Foreign Secretary said adding, both of them reciprocated those sentiments and felt that this is something that "needed to be looked into".
It is true that the emphasis has to be on the 'humanitarian situation' but Prime Minister Modi pointed out that "there should be a distinction between those who govern and those who are people in that country and that the people had to be helped".
In this context, the Foreign Secretary said, "We had offered humanitarian assistance, the Prime Minister said, significant assistance, but we needed to get it across to Afghanistan and that is something that we are working on to ensure that there is direct, unimpeded access of that humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan".
The Prime Minister will attend the first in-person post-Covid G-20 Summit in Rome.
Mr Shringla further said, "There is the sense that the relationship with Italy had seen a significant upswing in recent years, the Prime Minister (Modi) said that bilateral relations have seen warmth and vigour, particularly in the areas of investment, trade, and people to people ties.
"Prime Minister Draghi, also very strongly reciprocated that sentiment. And Prime Minister Modi also invited Italian PM and President Charles Michel and Ursula von de Leyen to visit India," the Foreign Secretary said.
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Piyush Goyal, Sherpa for G-20, also said India is going to take on the G-20 presidency on 1st December 2022.
"We will be the president and take the chairmanship of G20 for the year 2023. We will enter the Troika on 1st December 2021 and will play a leadership role on the issues and concerns of the developing countries and emerging market economies in the G20 Forum under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
India's efforts in building more consensus and building back the support of all the developed nations towards resilient supply chains and faster recovery of vulnerable economies has been "widely appreciated by other G20 members", he said adding, "India shall continue to represent the voice of the low and middle income countries".
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New Delhi:
On his first day of visit to Italy on Oct 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of important bilateral meetings including with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi.
Mr Modi also met and interacted with the community members from various organisations including the representatives of Italian Hindu Union-Sanatana Dharma Samgha.
The Prime Minister lauded the role played by them in "propagating Indian culture in Italy", an
MEA release said.
In his interaction with the community members from various organisations including the
representatives of Italian Congregation for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the
Prime Minister appreciated their contribution in several social activities including spreading the
message of Bhagavad Gita in Italy.
Mr Modi paid tributes to the valour shown by Indian soldiers specially Sikhs in World War - 1
and World War - II.
He met and interacted with the community members from Sikh community and institutions involved
in the commemoration of Indian soldiers who fought in Italy in World War I and World War II.
In his meeting with several Indologists and Sanskrit experts from Italian universities,
Mr Modi noted their interest in Indian culture, literature and practice of yoga and Ayurveda and
lauded the role played by them in strengthening the ties between the two countries.
MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet that PM Modi and his Italian counterpart
Mr Draghi reviewed the 2020-2025 Action Plan of Flag of India-Italy bilateral partnership.
Both the leaders also reiterated the commitment to further expanding trade and investment linkages.
They also resolved to cooperate for accelerating clean energy transition to fight climate change.
During the day, the Prime Minister paid floral tribute at the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Piazza
Gandhi in the city of Rome.
After paying tribute, Prime Minister also greeted the members of Indian Diaspora who were present
there in large numbers.
Mr Modi also met President of the European Council, Charles Michel; and President of the
European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
On Saturday, Mr Modi will attend the 16th G-20 Summit in Rome and also
meet the pope Francis in the Vatican City and meet Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The European Union leaders congratulated India for the excellent progress on
anti-Covid pandemic vaccination.
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G-20 agrees to extend Debt Service Suspension till 2021 end
New Delhi:
In a testimony to India's growing influence in the comity of nations, India has assertively ensured that there is "no premature withdrawal of support" for post Covid Economic Recovery and the most vulnerable sections are provided necessary support.
This was stated by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who is the Sherpa for India at the G-20 Summit.
"The G-20 has agreed to extend the Debt Service Suspension initiative till the end of 2021 thereby giving some breathing space to those in need and vulnerable around the world," Mr Goyal said at a special Sherpa briefing in Rome.
He said India is happy to get support from G-20 countries on "mutual recognition of travel documents,
including testing and vaccine certificates".
"For Sustainable Development and food security, India has insisted that policies must protect
interests of small and marginal farmers, conserve local food cultures which in turn
will ensure food security," he said.
India supports the need for critical enablers for galvanizing global Climate action like commensurate,
long term, concessional climate finance, access to affordable and sustainable technology, and
commitment to adopt sustainable lifestyles and responsible and consumption patterns, Mr Goyal said.
Besides the G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will have key bilateral meetings
with President of France Emmanuel Macron.
Sources said he would also meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo and President of Singapore
Halimah Yacob.
The Session I of G-20 will be on 'Global Economy and Global Health'.
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