Today is the second day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Europe tour. On Saturday, Modi will meet three heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Apart from this, he will also hold talks with Pope Francis, the biggest religious leader of Catholic Christians and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The meeting with the Pope was not part of the prime minister's official schedule, as the foreign ministry did not provide any information about it. However, now it has been decided that Modi will go to Vatican City to meet the Pope.
Modi's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron is considered very important. The issue of AUKUS was also discussed between the two last month. However, then this conversation took place over the phone. There was a lot of tension between the US, Britain and Australia over the submarine deal and its impact was visible somewhere directly on the AUKUS. However, for now, talks have been held between Joe Biden and Macron and the matter seems to be cooling down. Modi will try that there is no difference of any kind between the AUKUS countries. Because if this happens then China can take advantage of it in the Indian and Pacific Ocean and no country would want that. In the meeting of Modi-Macron, the mutual relations are set to be discussed in detail.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin are attending the summit. That is, there is no possibility that the Prime Minister will meet the leaders of both countries on this world stage. India and Russia enjoy friendly relations and have strong defence cooperation. But, not only is the world worried about China, but China in particular is a threat to India.
The issue of crisis in Ladakh is not yet resolved and even after 14 rounds of talks, there has been no complete withdrawal of troops from some areas. In such a situation, India would like to bring together all the allies of the South China Sea against the expansionist intentions of China. There will also be Indonesia and Singapore. Modi will meet the heads of state of both these countries.
PM Modi will also visit Vatican City to meet Pope Francis. This will be the first meeting of the Modi and Pope. Apart from this, the Prime Minister will also meet Foreign Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin. This meeting will send a good message to the world. US President Joe Biden is also meeting with the Pope.