Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Italy on Friday for its fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and said that “we all learned lessons” from the European country as it pledged to work to further expand India’s bilateral relationship. .
PM Modi made the comments during his virtual chat with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte. “When other countries were beginning to understand the virus, Italy was fighting a battle against it. Their successful battle inspired us and we all learned lessons from Italy, ”he told Conte.
Speaking more about Covid-19, Prime Minister Modi said that, like World War II, the coronavirus pandemic will be a watershed moment. “We have to adapt for the post-Covid-19 world and the challenges that will arise,” he said. “I am sure that after the talks, our relationship will become stronger, we will develop a greater understanding. We will also identify new areas of cooperation, ”he also said.
Prime Minister Modi also recalled Conte’s visit to India in 2018 for the fiscal summit, saying that the mutual exchange between India and Italy gained immense momentum after the talks. “I am glad to know that the Italian Parliament established the Italy-India friendship group. I hope that we will have the opportunity to welcome Italian MPs in India after the Covid-19 pandemic, ”he added.
During the PM Modi and Conte meeting, India and Italy will sign around a dozen agreements covering areas such as trade, investment, infrastructure, environment, fisheries, media and cinema. The two sides are also expected to explore the possibility of increasing Italian investments in India and enhancing cooperation in defense and manufacturing under the Make in India initiative.
The meeting, the latest in a series of virtual engagements by Modi following his successful summits with Australia and the European Union (EU), is part of New Delhi’s enhanced focus on Europe in the context of a global rebalancing in post-Covid. -19. script. Major EU players, such as Germany and France, have also shown increased interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
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