PM Modi to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican during Rome visit

New Delhi, October 28: In the major development Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to meet Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, during his visit to Italy for the G-20 meeting.

 

 

Modi will be travelling to Rome and Glasgow from October 29 to November 2 to attend the 16th G-20 Summit and the World Leaders' Summit of COP-26 respectively.

 

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla gave the information during the press briefing. Addressing the special briefing on PM Modi's visit to Rome, the Foreign Secretary informed that this summit will be the eighth G20 Summit attended by the Prime Minister. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Rome, Italy from October 29 to 31. He would be in Rome to attend the G20 Summit at the invitation of Italy's Prime Minister. This would be his eighth G20 Summit," he said.

  

 

He added that "PM Narendra Modi will be calling on Pope Francis at the Vatican. It is still to be finalised whether it will be one to one or delegation-level meeting. Normally, there are some delegation members in such meetings." The Vatican is a city-state surrounded by Rome and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the catholic Bishops' body in Kerala has described this as a "historic meeting, and said it will "add more energy and warmth to the relations between our country and the Vatican and the Catholic Church".

 

Besides the meeting with the Pope, several other bilaterals are planned including with the host, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. A meeting with Joko Widodo of Indonesia will happen on the sidelines of the G20. In 2022, Indonesia will be the G20 chair.

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