Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Rome to attend G20 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit to be held in Rome on Friday.

Prime Minister Modi will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his first day of arrival in Rome. He will also call on Pope Francis in the Vatican during his two-day visit.

The Prime Minister will be visiting Rome and the Vatican City from October 29 to 31 on the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

He will be in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on November 1, 2 for the COP26 meeting at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In Rome, the Prime Minister will join other G20 Leaders during the 16th summit in discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development, and climate change.

"This will be the first in-person Summit of the G20 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 and will allow us to take stock of the current global situation and exchange ideas on how the G20 can be an engine for strengthening economic resilience and building back inclusively and sustainably from the pandemic," the Prime Minister said.

During his visit to Italy, the Prime Minister will also visit the Vatican City to call on Pope Francis and meet Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister will also meet leaders of other partner countries and review the progress in India's bilateral relations with them.In Glasgow, the Prime Minister will participate in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled 'World Leaders' Summit' (WLS) on November 1,2 along with 120 heads of states and governments from around the world.

The Prime Minister said India is creating new records in collective effort for climate adaptation and he will share India's excellent track record on climate action at the WLS."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 bio-diversity. Today, India is creating new records in a collective effort for climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience and forging multilateral alliances," he said.

PM Modi said India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy, wind and solar energy capacity.

"I will also 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 importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth," he said.

The Prime Minister said COP26 Summit will also provide an opportunity to meet with all the stakeholders including leaders of partner countries, innovators and Inter-Governmental Organization and explore the possibilities for further accelerating India's clean growth.