Pope Francis accepts PM Modi's invitation to India

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• Oct 31, 2021 | moderator

Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. Modi invited the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Francis, to visit India.

"Had a very friendly meeting with Pope Francis. I had the chance to discuss a broad range of problems with him. I have also invited him to visit India," Modi tweeted.

They have discussed the future of the Post-Covid world and the climate change issues that the world is facing. The meeting was scheduled for 20 minutes. However, it continued for an hour.

Reports from Rome said that the Pope accepted the invitation to visit India. So, if he does visit India, it will mark the first papal visit to the nation after 1999. 

The Indian Foreign Ministry stated the invitation was for the pope "to visit India, which was accepted with pleasure."

In 2016, the Pope had stated that he was "relatively sure" of visiting India. But Indian Catholic Church heads failed to convince the prime minister to invite him.

But, as the 2017 call fell within, Church leaders stated the Indian government had indicated scheduling problems for the prime minister. Pope Francis visited Myanmar and Bangladesh rather.

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The last Pope to visit India was John Paul II. He went to New Delhi in 1999, and he had to issue a papal report on the Church in Asia. The last Indian prime minister to meet a Pope was Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Prime Minister Modi is on a two-day visit to Rome for the G20 Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. As a part of the tour, the prime minister further met the Pope.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar accompanied Modi at the meeting.

As per sources, Modi and the Pope addressed a wide spectrum of issues to make the world better. They have additionally discussed how to work to the betterment of the land by reducing poverty.

"Throughout today's meeting, the two leaders addressed the Covid-19 pandemic. They have also talked about its consequences for people across the world. They further discussed the difficulty sat by climate variation. The Prime Minister briefed concerning the grand actions taken by India in fighting climate change. His Holiness welcomed India's support to nations in need throughout the pandemic," a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs stated.