Johannesburg: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday expressed solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, asserting her commitment to work together to combat terrorism.
“PM Meloni expressed solidarity with India on the terror incident in Delhi and reiterated Italy’s strong commitment to work together to combat the scourge of terrorism,” said a press statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
It said that both leaders adopted the ‘India-Italy Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism’.
“The initiative aims to deepen bilateral cooperation on countering terrorism and collaboration in global and multilateral platforms, including the Financial Action Task Force( FATF) and the Global Counter terrorism Forum (GCTF),” the statement said.
The meeting between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Both leaders had interacted briefly on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in Canada, earlier in June this year.
During the meeting, the leaders reviewed and positively assessed the developments in the bilateral strategic partnership across sectors such as trade and investment, defence, security, space, science and technology, education, and people-to-people ties. Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29.
The leaders also welcomed the two Business Fora held in New Delhi and Brescia this year, with robust participation of the respective industries.
The leaders noted the ongoing efforts to increase business, technology, innovation and investment partnerships aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of both economies and building resilient supply chains.
The leaders appreciated the recent visit of an Italian Space delegation to India, which would augment collaboration in this domain, both at the government as well as private sector levels.
Prime Minister Meloni reiterated Italy’s strong support for the conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-EU Free Trade Agreement and for the success of the AI Impact Summit to be hosted by India in 2026.
The visit reaffirmed the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.
The two leaders looked forward to continuing their dialogue and working together in multilateral and global platforms for upholding their shared values of democracy, the rule of law and sustainable development.
(IANS)
