PM Modi to visit Italy, UK to attend G-20, COP-26

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rome in Italy and Glasgow in the UK between October 29 and November 2 to attend the G-20 summit and the world leaders' summit of the COP-26 conference, respectively, the ministry of external affairs said on Sunday.

The meeting would be the eighth G20 summit that would be attended by the PM. Modi has been invited by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and will participate in the 16th G-20 summit in Rome from October 30 to 31, the MEA said. The meeting will also be attended by the heads of states of the member nations of the group of 20 countries.

"The G-20 has emerged as the premier global forum for international economic cooperation. India is scheduled to host the G-20 Summit in 2023 for the first time. The forthcoming Summit under the Italian Presidency is centred around the theme 'People, Planet, Prosperity', focussing on the areas of (i) Recovery from the Pandemic and Strengthening of Global Health Governance, (ii) Economic Recovery and Resilience, (iii) Climate Change and Energy Transition, and (iv) Sustainable Development and Food Security," the MEA said.

Further, Modi is also slated to attend the World Leaders' Summit of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) at the invitation of the UK PM Boris Johnson. "COP-26 is being held from 31 October 2021 to 12 November 2021 under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy.

The high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders' Summit (WLS), will be held on 1-2 November 2021. The Summit will be attended by Heads of State/Government of more than 120 countries," the MEA said. The COP-26 was initially scheduled to be held in 2020, however, was delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

During both meetings, Modi is also scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines, notably with Italy's Draghi and the UK's Johnson. Meanwhile, Modi is expected to touch upon several key issues of the day such as a global approach in dealing with the developments in Afghanistan, tackling climate change and also the Covid-19 pandemic during the two-day G20 summit in Italy.