PM Modi Pays Floral Tribute To Mahatma Gandhi In Italy, Gets Rousing Welcome From Indian Diaspora

"In Rome, I had the opportunity to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideals give courage and inspiration to millions globally," the Prime Minister tweeted.

PM Modi pays tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Rome. (Image: PTI)

Rome: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid floral tribute to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Piazza Gandhi in Rome during his visit to the country to attend the 16th G-20 Summit.

Soon after arriving at the venue, Prime Minister was cheered by an enthusiastic group of Indians and was welcomed with chants in Sanskrit and slogan of "Modi, Modi". 

"In Rome, I had the opportunity to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideals give courage and inspiration to millions globally," Modi said in a tweet after paying tributes to the Father of Nation. 

"The ideals of the great Bapu reverberate globally, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted.

As per PMO sources, who told PTI that Prime Minister Modi has made it a point to pay rich tributes to the Father of the Nation during his every overseas trip since he took office in 2014.

PM Modi had offered floral tributes to Bapu in Washington DC in September 2014 and unveiled a statue of Gandhi at Brisbane in Australia in November same year.

Meanwhile, PM Modi will be joined by other global leaders in Rome for the G20 Summit that has been organised to discuss global economic and health recovery from COVID-19, sustainable development and climate change.

According to reports, PM also held wide-ranging talks with the top leaders of the European Union earlier in the day, during which the two sides discussed deepening the India-EU friendship, particularly in areas such as trade, commerce, culture and the environment.

After his productive interactions with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and other leaders, PM Modi described the meetings as wonderful.

He said that he had wide-ranging talks on deepening the India-EU friendship, particularly in areas such as trade, commerce, culture and the environment