New Delhi: Defence cooperation and development projects featured in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meetings with his Italian and Japanese counterparts late Friday evening on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy.
“The two sides discussed bilateral defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration. They welcomed the forthcoming visit of the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and training ship ITS Vespucci to India later this year,” said the Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) readout on the meeting between Modi and Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy.
“PM Modi thanked the Italian government for recognising the Indian Army’s contribution in the Italian campaign during WW-II and informed that India will be upgrading the Yashwant Ghadge Memorial at Montone in Italy,” it added.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will also be establishing the first ICCR chair on India studies at the University of Milan, according to the MEA.
Meloni has held the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) summit this year and it was at her invitation that Modi attended the Outreach Session Friday.
Meloni and Modi also discussed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a project launched on the sidelines of the G20 summit held last year in New Delhi. The project envisions a new route to Europe from India, through West Asia.
Following the bilateral meeting with Meloni, Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Modi is likely to attend the annual India-Japan Summit in the East Asian country later this year. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project was discussed between the two leaders, and they took stock of the 5-trillion-yen investment goal set by Tokyo in Indian projects between 2022 and 2027.
“India and Japan are collaborating on several important areas including the landmark Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project that will usher in the next stage in mobility in India, the targeted 5 trillion yen worth of Japanese investment in India in the 2022-2027 period, and India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership aimed at transformation of our manufacturing cooperation,” an MEA readout stated.
Before meeting with Meloni, the PM participated in the Outreach Session on Artificial Intelligence and Energy, Africa and the Mediterranean, which also drew attendance from leaders of various countries, including the UAE, Türkiye, Jordan and Algeria, as well as Pope Francis. This was the Pope’s first ever attendance of such a global summit. Modi also had an encounter with the Pope. The two had last met in 2021 at the Vatican.
PM Modi earlier Friday met with the leaders of France, UK and Ukraine. He did not have a separate bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden or Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but did briefly interact with them during the summit.
On his encounter with Biden, Modi said on X: “It’s always a pleasure to meet @POTUS @JoeBiden. India and USA will keep working together to further global good.”
Modi also met with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye, President Nahyan, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Biden held a meeting with Meloni, Pope Francis and a short pull aside with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE, according to the White House.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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