PM Modi Arrives In Rome To Attend G-20 Summit

On his five-day-long foreign tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rome on Friday where he was greeted by senior officials of the Government of Italy and the Ambassador of India in Italy, informed the Ministry of External Affairs.

“Landed in Rome to take part in the @g20org Summit, an important forum to deliberate on key global issues. I also look forward to other programs through this visit to Rome," the PM said on Twitter.

 16th G-20 Summit

Here in Rome, PM Modi will take part in the 16th G-20 Summit where he "will hold discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development, and climate change,” as he had said in his departure statement on Thursday.

“During my visit to Italy, I will also visit the Vatican City, to call on His Holiness Pope Francis and meet Secretary of State, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin,” he had said.

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi will also hold bilateral talks with heads of state of other countries to take stock of the progress of India's relations with them.This is the first in person summit taking place since the Covid-19 pandemic.

 G-20: A Global Forum

G-20 or Group of 20 is a "forum between Heads of State and Government, aimed at improving coordination on the main global issues", as per its website. The group represents about 60% of the world's population has an 80% contribution to the global GDP. Since December 2020, Italy is the President country of the group and hence, hosting this year's summit.

 26th Conference of Parties

As the summit ends on 31st October, Prime Minister will then visit Glasgow in the United Kingdom to attend the Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 1-2 November.

Referring to COP-26, PM said, “In line with our tradition of living in harmony with nature and culture of deep respect for the planet, we are taking ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, afforestation, and biodiversity."

He will "highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues, including equitable distribution of carbon space, support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience-building measures, mobilization of finance, technology transfer and the importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth."

COP-26 will also provide an opportunity to meet with all the stakeholders, including leaders of partner countries, innovators, and inter-governmental organizations, and explore the possibilities for further accelerating our clean growth, he added.