Modi meets S'pore, Italian PMs in Bali; invites them to India

SINGAPORE: On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met his counterparts from Singapore and Italy and invited them to visit India.

During the meeting with Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong, "the two leaders reiterated their commitment to further expand trade and investment linkages between the two countries particularly in fintech, renewable energy, skill development, health and pharmaceutical sectors", a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

Modi also recalled his meeting with Prime Minister Lee on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Rome last year.

Both the Prime Ministers took note of the strong strategic partnership between India and Singapore and regular high level Ministerial and institutional interactions, including the inaugural session of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, held at New Delhi in September, said the PMO statement.

Modi invited Singapore to invest in various sectors including green economy, infrastructure, and digitalisation and to take advantage of India's National Infrastructure Pipeline, Asset Monetisation Plan and the Gati Shakti Plan, it said

"Prime Minister Modi appreciated Singapore's role in India's Act East Policy and its role as the country coordinator of ASEAN-India relations from 2021-2024. Both leaders reiterated their desire for working together for furthering the India-ASEAN multi-faceted cooperation," the statement added.

The Prime Minister also conveyed his best wishes to Lee for the future and invited him to visit India for the G20 summit next year.

Meanwhile, during his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Modi congratulated her on becoming the first Prime Minister of the country

"The two leaders discussed the deepening of bilateral cooperation in various sectors including trade and investment, counter-terrorism, and people to people ties. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the PMO statement said

"Modi looks forward to celebrating 75 years of India-Italy diplomatic relations and welcoming prime minister Meloni in India next year for the G20 summit."