Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni shared a light-hearted moment at the G7 summit in France saying they were the “most famous couple on Instagram”.
The leaders exchanged jokes as they arrived for the customary group photograph in Evian-les-Bains.
A video showed Mr Modi and Ms Meloni greeting each other and the Indian leader joking about their popularity on social media platforms.
A mic captured Ms Meloni’s response more clearly as she said: “Yes, we’re the most famous couple on Instagram.”
The friendly interactions of the two leaders on the sidelines of international summits have sparked a wave of memes, fan edits, viral posts, and an online trend, “Melodi”, a portmanteau of their surnames.
The trend began when the prime ministers met for the first time at the G20 summit in Bali in 2023 and, subsequently, in Delhi later that year. It exploded in December 2023, when Ms Meloni herself posted a selfie with Mr Modi at the COP28 meeting in Dubai with the hashtag #Melodi.
Most recently, Mr Modi gifted a bag of India’s popular Melody toffees to the Italian leader during his visit to Rome, sparking a buzz on social media.
A video shared by Ms Meloni showed Mr Modi handing over the chocolates as they laughed. “Thank you for the gift,” Mr Meloni wrote in the caption.
The video exploded in popularity on social media with millions of views.
The two leaders are among the most popular people on the internet. Mr Modi has 107 million followers on X and Ms Meloni 3.3 million. Their appearances together give both internet-savvy leaders even more visibility.
Mr Modi is scheduled to participate in a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including with US president Donald Trump.
Mr Modi and Mr Trump are expected to meet ahead of a working lunch of the G7 leaders, outreach partners, and leading technology executives. They are set to discuss the India-US trade deal, economic growth, supply chains, artificial intelligence, investment partnerships, and global security challenges.
The Indian leader flew to the summit under pressure to raise the issue of US strikes on vessels in the Gulf of Oman that killed three Indian crew members earlier this month.
American forces have attacked at least three vessels crewed by Indian sailors this month alone after accusing them of attempting to breach the US blockade of Iran.
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