PM Narendra Modi invites Pope Francis to visit India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis and discussed a wide range of issues including the Covid19 pandemic and the challenge posed by climate change with the head of the Roman Catholic church and also invited the Pontiff to visit India at an early dateModi who is the first Indian Prime Minister to meet Francis since he became Pope in 2013 also tweeted pictures of him embracing Pope Francis Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India Modi tweeted after the historic meetingPope Francis received Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release This was the first meeting between an Indian Prime Minister and the Pope in more than two decades In June 2000 late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had last visited the Vatican and met the then Pope His Holiness John Paul II India and The Holy See have friendly relations dating back to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948India is home to the secondlargest Catholic population in Asia the release said During the meeting the two leaders discussed the Covid19 pandemic and its consequences for people across the world They also discussed the challenge posed by climate change it said The Prime Minister who is in Italy to attend the G20 Summit briefed the Pope about the ambitious initiatives taken by India in combating climate change as well as Indias success in administering one billion Covid19 vaccination dosesPrime Minister Modi will also attend the Climate Summit to be held in Glasgow from Sunday His Holiness appreciated Indias assistance to countries in need during the pandemic the release said Prime Minster extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit India at an early date which was accepted with pleasure it said The last Papal Visit happened in 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and Pope John Paul II came Now it is during Modis prime ministerial term that the Pope has been invited to visit India sources saidThe meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis that was scheduled only for 20 minutes went on for an hour they said They discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making the planet better by fighting climate change and removing poverty sources said During a brief conversation the cordial relations between the Holy See and India were discussed the Vatican Press Office said in a brief statement on the meeting between the Pope and Prime Minister ModiSubsequently in the Secretariat of State Prime Minister Modi greeted Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher Security of Relations with States it added At the Vatican Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Ahead of the historic meeting Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday said that the Vatican has not set an agenda for the meeting I believe tradition is not to have an agenda when you discuss issues with His Holiness And I think we would respect that he had saidI am sure the issues would cover a range of areas of interest in terms of the general global perspectives and issues that are important to all of us Covid19 health issues how we can work together to maintain peace and tranquillity and this is something that I think would be the general trend in the discussions he had addedAlso Read PM Modi calls on Pope Francis in VaticanThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever