Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni had a pleasant exchange in South Africa, where both leaders arrived to attend the G20 Summit.
Ahead of the opening session of the G20 Leaders' Summit at Nasrec in South Africa's Johannesburg, the leaders shook hands and exchanged warm greetings.
PM Modi and Meloni had last met in June on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada's Kananaskis.
In a display of the strong relations between the two leaders, PM Modi had written in the preface to the book titled 'I Am Giorgia' that the closeness between India and Italy is founded on "shared civilizing instincts, such as the defence of heritage, the strength of community, and the celebration of femininity as a guiding force".
"The words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for whom I have profound respect, in his preface to the Indian edition of the book 'I Am Giorgia', deeply touch and honour me. These are sentiments that I sincerely reciprocate, with all my heart, and which testify to the strong bond between our nations," Meloni was quoted as saying by Italian news agency Adnkronos.
The Johannesburg gathering on Saturday was attended by a host of world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But it was boycotted by the US president, with his government saying South Africa's priorities - which include boosting global cooperation on trade and climate action - run counter to US policy.
