India / PM Narendra Modi leaves for Italy and UK to attend 16th G20 Leaders Summit in Rome

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for a five-day visit to Italy and Britain. PM Modi will first attend the G-20 summit in Rome and later attend the climate talks in Glasgow, UK. During his visit to Italy, he will also meet Pope Francis in Vatican City. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join G20 leaders to discuss global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development and climate change at the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit in Rome. Giving details of the PM's visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that the G20 summit in Italy can yield concrete results on similar challenges to be faced in the future, including combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues like global health infrastructure, economic recovery will also be discussed.

Shringla said that the G20 is an important platform for India to engage with the world's important economies and set trends and benchmarks for global economic growth and reform. He said that India will continue to be the voice of common citizens of developing countries and emerging economies in the G-20. The Foreign Secretary said that during this time Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Pope Francis in Vatican City and hold talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman besides holding several bilateral meetings.

Shringla said that the G20 will focus on the management of the Kovid epidemic and any future pandemics, and the global health infrastructure will be discussed. He said that concrete results can come about this in the G20. It is also suggested to set up a mechanism keeping in view the future needs.