New Delhi: Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Norway was the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Oslo in 43 years. Not since Indira Gandhi’s tenure has an Indian head of government visited as many countries as Modi, shows an analysis by ThePrint.
Modi has made 100 international visits during his 12 years in power, holding meetings in at least 80 countries. Manmohan Singh made 71 such visits to around 46 countries during his decade in power, while Indira Gandhi visited 69 countries over a span of about 15 years.
However, Modi has sought to extend political engagement at the highest levels. During his tenure, many of his visits were the first by an Indian Prime Minister, while some were after a gap of several years. For instance, Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, in 2017. He made another visit to the country in February 2026, days ahead of the outbreak of conflict in West Asia, following American-Israeli joint strikes inside Iran.
Modi is also the first, and so far only Indian Prime Minister, to visit the State of Palestine. He made the visit in 2018, with a short transit through Jordan, which was the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Rajiv Gandhi’s official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom in 1988.
Modi later made a full bilateral visit to Amman in December 2025.
Prime Minister Modi is also the first Indian leader to visit Ukraine. He made the historic visit to Kyiv in August 2024, as part of New Delhi’s efforts to engage with both Russia and Ukraine. Before travelling to Kyiv, Modi had made an official visit to Russia for the annual summit between New Delhi and Moscow in July 2024.
Across different international regions, Modi has sought to extend his personal engagement with international leaders, being the most travelled Indian Prime Minister to date.
He has visited 11 African countries, three countries in South America, at least one nation in the Caribbean, almost every member-state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and large parts of West and Central Asia.
Modi has also made a number of visits across Europe, as India and the European Union (EU) have sought deeper ties in the last few years. In the last year alone, Indian diplomacy saw New Delhi sign and operationalise the free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Lichtenstein.
And earlier this year, India and the EU announced the conclusion of negotiations for an FTA.
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Modi’s Africa outreach
The Indian Prime Minister has over the years made a number of international visits to African countries. In 2025, Modi made bilateral visits to five African countries, including Namibia, Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa and Mauritius.
His visits to Ghana and Namibia, in July last year, were the first by an Indian Prime Minister since the 1990s.
P. V. Narasimha Rao was the first Indian Prime Minister to make a visit at that level in 1995. Neither Atal Bihari Vajpayee nor Manmohan Singh, both of whom had led the country for a full term since Narasimha Rao and before Modi, made a visit to Ghana.
Modi’s visit to Namibia was the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 27 years. Vajpayee paid a visit to the country in 1998. Prime Minister V.P. Singh was the first Indian leader to make a visit to the South West African nation that gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Singh had attended Namibia’s independence celebrations in March 1990.
The incumbent Indian Prime Minister was also the first to visit Rwanda. He made a state visit to the African country in July 2018 at the invitation of President Paul Kagame. Modi also made a visit to Mozambique in July 2016. Modi’s visit to Maputo in July 2016 was the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi’s visit in August 1982.
Modi’s visit to Mozambique was a part of India’s strategy to charm African nations and included visits to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Modi’s bilateral visit to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016 was also the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi’s visit to the African nation in 1981.
Modi’s first visit to Seychelles in 2015 was the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the island nation in 34 years.
Europe and South America
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made multiple trips to Europe, including the just concluded one that included visits to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy. The last Indian Prime Minister to visit Norway was Indira Gandhi in 1983.
While this was Modi’s second visit to Sweden, his first visit to Stockholm in 2018 was the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to the country in 1988. Rajiv Gandhi had made two visits to the Nordic nation. His first visit in 1986 was to attend the funeral of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, who was assassinated in February 1986. There is a road in New Delhi named after the former Swedish Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi’s second visit to the country in 1988 came at a time when the then Indian Prime Minister was engulfed in the Bofors scandal. The scandal had broken about a year earlier, when the Swedish company allegedly paid kickbacks to Indian government officials to secure a $1.4 billion howitzer gun contract with New Delhi.
Similarly, Modi’s visit to Spain in 2017 was the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Narasimha Rao’s visit to the Iberian nation in 1992. Modi also made a visit to Portugal in 2017, which was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 17 years.
Modi’s visit to Poland in August 2024 was the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 45 years. Morarji Desai was the last Indian Prime Minister to visit the Central European nation in 1979. Cyprus is another nation that hosted Modi last June, during the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister since 1983.
In South America, Modi’s visits to Guyana and Argentina were the first by an Indian Prime Minister in many years.
Modi’s visit to Guyana was the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 56 years, while Rao was the last Prime Minister before the incumbent to make a visit to Buenos Aires.
West and Pacific Islands
One international region where Modi has focused on building ties in his personal capacity has been West Asia. Through his tenure, the Indian Prime Minister has travelled to almost every country in the region.
Apart from the historic visits to Israel and Palestine and recently Jordan, Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Bahrain in 2019. Modi also visited Kuwait in 2024, the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi’s visit in 1981. Ties between India and Kuwait had been tense, especially following New Delhi’s position during the Gulf War in 1990.
The incumbent Indian Prime Minister was the first to visit Papua New Guinea in May 2023. Modi also visited Fiji, the first Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi to do so.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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