WEBDESK: On the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron.
The two were seen sharing a hug and laughing together, a moment that has since gone viral on social media.
In the video, Prime Minister Modi appears to make a playful comment, saying, “Nowadays, you are also fighting on Twitter.”
The remark drew a hearty laugh from President Macron, and the two shared a light moment.
But, allegedly, according to a French diplomat who was with President Emmanuel Macron during the G7 summit, the French leader had intended to begin his conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by expressing condolences over the recent deadly crash in Ahmedabad.
However, when the two leaders met, Prime Minister Modi apparently took the lead in the conversation.
Instead of acknowledging the tragic incident, he allegedly opened with a rather odd joke about a recent video featuring President Macron.
The French side had been prepared for a more sombre exchange, especially in light of the loss of lives in the Ahmedabad crash, but the meeting took an unexpected turn due to Modi’s light-hearted start, the diplomat said.
Afterwards, Macron greeted India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with a handshake before joining Modi for the meeting.
While the clip shows a friendly and relaxed exchange between the two leaders, it is worth noting that the conversation made no reference to the Ahmedabad crash.
As reportedly mentioned earlier by a French diplomat close to Macron, the French President had intended to start the meeting by offering condolences over the tragic incident.
But apparently, Modi’s unexpected joke steered the conversation in a different direction.
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