Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis shared a warm embrace on Friday during an outreach session of the G7 Summit in the southern Italian region of Puglia, where they discussed pressing global challenges along with other world leaders.
Modi was seen engaging in a light-hearted exchange with the 87-year-old head of the world Catholic Church, who circled the tables in a wheelchair to greet world leaders gathered at the summit's Borgo Egnasia.
“It depends on each and every one of us whether we can make good use of AI,” the pope said in a speech at an outreach session on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean, attended by G7 participants and other leaders of the Southern Hemisphere, invited by this year's summit president, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
She greeted the “Pope” and was later joined by the wheelchair-bound octogenarian pontiff as he shook hands with leaders including US President Joe Biden, British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Prime Minister met with Pope Francis in October 2021 during a private audience at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
At the time, the two leaders discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on people around the world, as well as the challenges posed by climate change.
The Prime Minister briefed the Pope about India's ambitious efforts to combat climate change and its successful distribution of one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The Pope reportedly thanked India for the support it has extended to countries in need during the pandemic.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, India and the Holy See (the government of the Catholic Church headquartered in the Vatican) have enjoyed friendly relations since establishing diplomatic relations in 1948.
India has the second-largest Catholic population in Asia and is excited about a papal visit next year.
