Meeting friends is always a delight: PM Modi to Italian leader

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reacted to a viral selfie his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni took with him on the sidelines of the COP28 meet in Dubai, saying “meeting friends is always a delight”.

Meloni had on Friday posted the selfie on X with the remarks, “Good friends at COP28” followed by hashtag ‘Melodi’, a mix of the two leaders’ surnames.

The warm picture of the two leaders smilingly into the camera has gone viral since.

Modi addressed the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit, the ceremonial opening of the high-level segment for heads of state and government, and attended the Presidency’s session on Transforming Climate Finance, another high-level event on Green Credits Programme, and a Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) event in Dubai.

He met a slew of world leaders including Meloni, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Turkey President R T Erdogan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu.

Modi also met Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, President of Guyana Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the Swiss Confederation President Alain Berset, Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon.