Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shared a light-hearted moment ahead of the leaders’ photo session at the G7 Summit in Evian, France, exchanging smiles and a brief conversation that quickly caught the attention of social media users.
Visuals from the summit showed the two leaders chatting and laughing moments before posing with other world leaders. The interaction came just weeks after their previous meeting in Rome, where Prime Minister Modi had gifted Meloni a packet of “Melody” toffees, the popular chocolate-caramel candy made by Parle Products, prompting widespread online chatter and reviving the viral “Melodi” nickname coined by internet users.
Sharing the official group photograph from the summit on X, Modi wrote, “With fellow leaders at the G7 Summit in Evian. We will keep working together to advance prosperity, sustainability and human well-being.” The friendly exchange with Meloni also stood in contrast to the intense online scrutiny surrounding Modi’s separate interaction with US President Donald Trump at the summit. Their brief handshake, without the customary hug often seen in previous meetings, fuelled speculation among some social media users about the state of bilateral ties.
The Modi-Meloni interaction, however, was widely viewed online as warm and cordial, adding another chapter to the leaders’ increasingly noticed public rapport.