 "PM Modi may visit Italy this week, his first overseas trip in third term")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Italy later this week, days after being sworn into the office for a record third term on Sunday.
On his first overseas visit in the third term, Modi would join global leaders in attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held in Borgo Egnazia (Fasano) in Italy’s Apulia from June 13-15. Modi is likely to reach the summit on June 14 for one day.
Notably, Italy and India elevated their bilateral relations to "strategic partnership" during the visit of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to New Delhi in March 2023.
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The G7 summit in Italy is one of the reasons why the guest list of international leaders for Modi’s swearing-in ceremony was kept compact, news agency ANI reported citing sources, who said that Modi would attend the event.
Top leaders of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Seychelles attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi. The officials informed that this guest list was guided by New Delhi’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ which focuses on key island nations in the Indian Ocean region.
“Spoke with PM Giorgia Meloni and extended greetings as Italy celebrates its Liberation day today. Thanked her for the invite to the G7 summit in June. Discussed taking forward G20 India outcomes at the G7. Reaffirmed commitment to deepening our Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in a social media post on April 25.
The G7 summit is an informal international forum with Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US as its member nations. The president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission will also attend the event to represent the European Union.
Italy assumed the presidency of the forum on January 1 this year.
Notably, following the G7 summit’s conclusion, Switzerland is scheduled to host the Ukraine peace summit over the weekend, in which 90 countries and organisations (half from Europe) will participate to chart a path towards possible peace in Ukraine. However, India is unlikely to attend this summit, media reports said.