As the heads of nations part of the Group of seven summit are flying to Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni resorted to an Indian way to welcome the dignitaries across the world. In videos going viral on social media, Giorgia Meloni can be seen welcoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with ‘Namaste’ gesture.
The videos have been shared widely on the internet, and several social media users have applauded the Italian PM's gesture.
“That's such a nice gesture. It shows our culture being celebrated.” wrote an X user.
“That’s the impact of our #Indian tradition and culture on westerners who are truly in love with. Be it Yoga, the Hare-Krishna movement, Festivities, Meditation or even Namaste … except us Indians, everyone else seems to be pretty much eager to embrace them … while we Indians are going towards a downtrodden path of self-destruction and demise of morals, social and cultural values,” commented another user on the video shared on X.
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Another user commented, “COVID-free greeting”, recalling how the Indian gesture was considered the most preferred greeting during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain social distancing.
A Group of Seven summit began on Thursday with the US announcing a USD 50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral. The move is the recent support of the Biden-led government to Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni welcomed the heads of state of the G7's leading industrialised nations to a luxury resort in southern Italy. In her inaugural address, Meloni compared the G7 to the ancient olive trees that symbolise the Puglia region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Italy's Apulia late Thursday night (local time) to attend the G7 Summit, where India is invited as an outreach country. As PM Modi touched down at Brindisi Airport in Apulia, he was received by India's Ambassador to Italy, Vani Rao, and other officials. This marks PM Modi's first trip abroad after assuming office for the third consecutive term.
"PM @narendramodi touches down at Brindisi airport in Apulia, Italy. Agenda includes participation in the Outreach session of the G7 Summit & substantive interactions with the global leaders on the sidelines. An action-packed day awaits!" the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, wrote in a post on X.
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