ROME: Narendra Modi and Giorgia Meloni shared a light-hearted moment in Rome on Wednesday as the two leaders took selfies at the iconic Colosseum and admired panoramic views of the Italian capital ahead of key trade talks.
In a video posted on X, Meloni thanked Modi for bringing a packet of “Melody” toffees during his visit. The gesture sparked laughter between the two leaders, with the candy reference seen as a playful nod to the similarity in their names that has previously drawn attention on social media.
The Rome visit marks the first bilateral trip by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years. Modi arrived in the Italian capital on Tuesday as part of the final leg of his Europe tour. He had earlier visited Italy for the G20 summit in 2021 and later attended the G7 summit there in 2024.
In a joint opinion article published in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, Modi and Meloni said they aimed to boost economic cooperation and “reach and exceed the €20 billion ($23 billion) target for trade between Italy and India by 2029”.
The two leaders identified several sectors for deeper collaboration, including defence, aerospace, automobile components, clean technologies and textiles. They said the partnership would combine Italy’s strengths in design, manufacturing and advanced computing with India’s fast-growing economy, engineering expertise, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
According to the Indian embassy in Italy, bilateral trade between the two countries reached €14.25 billion last year.
Later on Wednesday, Modi and Meloni are scheduled to hold formal bilateral talks at Villa Pamphili, a historic 17th-century villa located west of Rome’s city centre.
Modi also said on X that he would visit the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization to reaffirm India’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and global food security initiatives.