Rome, October 30:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Vatican City on Saturday to hold his first ever one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis, as part of his Rome visit for the G20 Summit. PM Modi is the fifth Indian Prime Minister to visit the head of Roman Catholics, the largest religious denomination in the world. He is visiting the Vatican City from October 29 to 31 at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
PM Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to meet the Pope.
Prime Minister Modi has a busy week ahead with high profile meetings at the G20 summit in Italy and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. He will be in Glasgow on the first two days of November.
Yesterday, PM Modi met his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi and the two leaders discussed issues of bilateral and mutual interests. PM Modi, who arrived in Italy earlier in the day, was received by Draghi at Palazzo Chigi for their first in-person meeting. He was also accorded a guard of honour.
