Bharat Express

PM Modi

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had set an ambitious target of 370 seats (400+ with allies) to secure a third consecutive term with a strong majority.

Besides India, Italy has invited leaders from 11 developing nations in Africa, South America, and the Indo-Pacific region to the summit

Notably, India is taking part in the Group of Seven (G7) Summit as an outreach nation

In their 2021 meeting, Modi and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar were hosted by Pope Francis, discussing various issues including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.

PM Modi expressed his satisfaction with Italy being the destination for his first foreign visit in his third term.

Last week, Macron congratulated Modi as the BJP-led NDA secured a third consecutive term following the Lok Sabha elections, referring to him as a "dear friend."

The first day of the summit revolved around the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with leaders endorsing a US proposal to provide a USD 50-billion loan to Kyiv using frozen Russian assets.

Italy's Prime Minister invited PM Modi to attend the G7 outreach summit. The summit is to take place in  Borgo Egnazia resort of Apulia region between 13 to 15 June in Italy.

In 2014, leaders of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony, while in 2019, the event was attended by leaders of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries.

In order to obtain 99 seats, the Congress gave its best showing since 2009. Only 52 seats were gained by the party in 2019 (Rahul Gandhi resigned as leader), compared to just 44 in 2014.