‘Very Warm Meeting’: PM Modi On Visiting Pope Francis At Vatican, Invites Him To Come To India

After the invitation to his Italian counterpart, Prime Minister Modi invited Pope Francis to pay an official visit to India at the earliest opportunity.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Pope Francis in the Vatican City where they discussed “a wide range of issues”. It was the first-ever one-to-one meeting between PM Modi and Pope Francis wherein he invited the head of the Catholic Church to pay a visit to India.

The Prime Minister shared photos of his meet with the Pope on Twitter and wrote: “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”.

Pope Francis received Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on Saturday, a release by the Ministry of External Affairs informed.

This was the first meeting between an Indian Prime Minister and the Pope in more than two decades.

“In June 2000, Late Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had last visited the Vatican and met the then Pope, His Holiness John Paul II. India and The Holy See have friendly relations dating back to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948. India is home to the second-largest Catholic population in Asia,” the MEA mentioned.

During today’s meeting, the two leaders discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for people across the world. They also discussed the challenge posed by climate change.

PM Modi briefed the Pope about the ambitious initiatives taken by India in combating climate change as well as the nation’s success in administering one billion COVID-19 vaccination doses. “His Holiness appreciated India’s assistance to countries in need during the pandemic,” the MEA wrote.

“Prime Minister extended an invitation to His Holiness Pope Francis to visit India at an early date, which was accepted with pleasure,” it added.

At the Vatican, PM Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican City State.

PM Modi’s Meeting With Italian Counterpart Mario Draghi

Earlier, PM Modi had met his Italian counterpart Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome. In their first in-person meeting, PM Modi on Friday congratulated PM Draghi for successfully hosting the G20 in the midst of a global pandemic. 

Italy is also partnering with the United Kingdom in organising the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)  in Glasgow.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs’ official statement, the two leaders discussed the challenges posed by climate change, and the need for the international community to work together. 

PM Modi highlighted the transformative climate actions undertaken by India and the concerns of developing countries about climate financing commitments of the developed world.

The two leaders also exchanged views on recent global and regional developments, including in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific. They reiterated their desire for working closer together for furthering the India-EU multifaceted cooperation, the MEA stated.

In terms of the bilateral ties, both Prime Ministers reviewed developments since the India-Italy Virtual Summit in November 2020 and expressed satisfaction at the progress in implementation of the 2020-2025 Action Plan adopted at the Virtual Summit that set strategic goals in the political, economic, S&T and cultural spheres to be achieved in the next five years.

PM Narendra Modi and PM Mario Draghi reiterated their commitment to further expanding trade and investment linkages between the two countries particularly in textiles, food processing, automotive, and renewable energy sectors. 

To provide fresh impetus to the bilateral cooperation in renewables and clean energy, India and Italy issued a Joint Statement announcing a Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition and agreed to explore partnerships in areas such as large size green corridor projects, smart grids, energy storage solutions, gas transportation, integrated waste management (waste-to-wealth), development and deployment of green hydrogen and promotion of bio-fuels. 

India and Italy also signed a Statement of Intent on Textiles cooperation during the meeting, the MEA statement mentioned.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation to his Italian counterpart to pay an official visit to India at the earliest opportunity.

PM Modi will be attending the G20 summit in Rome. 

Later, he will visit Glasgow where he is scheduled to attend the COP-26 UN Climate Change Conference, hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy, which will take place from October 31 to November 12, 2021.