On the margins of the G20 Summit on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, exchanging pleasantries and displaying a mood of friendship.
Prime Minister Modi is seen with Mr. Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a sequence of images released by the PMO India.
“On the sidelines of the @g20org Rome Summit, PM @narendramodi interacts with various leaders,” the PMO said in the tweet
Who was in the pictures?
Mr. Modi is seen walking with Mr. Biden in a half-embrace in the photos, seemingly having a light chitchat. Both leaders appear to be content to be in each other’s company.
On September 24, Mr. Biden welcomed Mr. Modi to the White House for their first face-to-face encounter.
In other images, Mr. Modi can be seen hugging Mr. Macron and having a lively conversation with Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Johnson.
Earlier in the day, all of the G20 Summit participants, including Mr. Modi, gathered for a “family portrait.”
“World leaders meet in Rome for the @g20org Summit, an important multilateral forum for global good,” In another tweet, the PMO stated.
The G20 Summit is an important forum
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the G20 is a crucial venue for India’s engagement with key economies around the world, as well as for setting the trends and norms for global economic development and recovery, ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Rome.
Modi shakes hands with Emmanuel Macron
On the margins of the G20 summit conference, Mr. Modi met with French President Emmanuel Macron, and the two leaders had “constructive discussions” on a range of matters of mutual and global importance.
During his meeting with Mr. Macron, Mr. Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who had been invited by his Italian colleague Mario Draghi.
“On the sidelines of the @g20org Summit, PM @narendramodi and President @EmmanuelMacron had fruitful discussions. India and France collaborate closely in a variety of fields. The Prime Minister’s Office stated, “Today’s talks will add momentum to bilateral ties between the two nations.”
The gathering
The encounter comes more than a month after the two leaders spoke on the phone, despite Paris’ harsh criticism of the AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) security collaboration.
The two leaders promised to “operate collaboratively” in the Indo-Pacific during their telephone chat last month to keep the region stable, rules-based, and free of hegemony.
The two had discussed the growing bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific area at the time, as well as the critical role that the India-France partnership plays in fostering regional peace and security.
They had promised to hold monthly meetings to coordinate ahead of upcoming events, such as the G20 and the COP26 on climate change, as well as to continue their combined efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
