Rome/New Delhi, Oct 30 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with G20 leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the 16th G20 Summit in Rome.
“On the sidelines of the @g20org Rome Summit, PM @narendramodi interacts with various leaders,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted, with photographs of the meetings.
The comfort level between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden was in evidence in the manner in which the two were seen talking animatedly and smiling as they walked together, with the US President putting an arm lightly around Prime Minister Modi’s shoulder.
The two leaders had met last month during their first in-person meeting in Washington for the bilateral meeting, as well as the Quad Leaders’ Summit. At the bilateral itself, the two leaders had shared some jovial moments, in reference to PM Modi digging out information regarding the US President’s distant relatives in India.
Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with French President Macron was symbolic of the close ties between the two nations, as the leaders shared a tight hug. This was their first in-person meeting in months. They are to hold a bilateral meeting later in the day.
The two had spoken on phone last month just after the sudden announcement of the AUKUS partnership, between Australia, the UK and US, which had angered Paris greatly.
Prime Minister Modi interacted more formally with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, speaking to him formally, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson standing by.
Last year, PM Trudeau had backed the farmers’ protest in India, which was criticized as "unacceptable interference" in its internal affairs by New Delhi. Later Trudeau "commended" India for choosing "the path of dialogue, as befitting a democracy".
UNI/RN