Prime Minister Narendra Modi plays the drums with Indians in Scotland
PM Modi joined in the festivities and played the drums for a few beats alongside the drummers, who cheered him on
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi played the drums and engaged with members of the Scottish Indian community who had gathered to tell him farewell before he returned to India after a two-day visit to Glasgow for the United Nations COP26.
Prime Minister Modi was greeted with rhythmic drumming and passionate chants as he left for the airport, with a large throng – many dressed in traditional Indian clothes and turbans – gathered to bid him farewell before he left for India.
PM Modi joined in the festivities, shaking hands and welcoming various members of the community. He even played the drums for a few beats alongside the drummers, who cheered him on.
PM Modi also mingled with a number of families in the audience, gently touching the heads of some of the children and reaching out to shake hands with some of the group's younger members.
A few people in the audience even received autographs.
PM Modi met with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, Israel, Nepal, Italy, and France, among others, during his tour. While making the National Statement on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed five "amrit tatva" at the COP26 Summit, including the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
He stated that by 2030, India will boost its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and use renewable energy to cover 50% of its energy needs. While delivering the National Statement on Monday, the prime minister declared the one-word moment, LIFE...L, I, F, E, i.e. Lifestyle For Environment, to highlight the concerns of developing countries at the COP26.
COP-26 will take place from October 31 to November 12 under the UK's presidency, with Italy as a partner. The World Leaders' Summit (WLS), a high-level component of COP-26, took place on November 1-2.
More than 120 heads of state and government attended the meeting. The Prime Minister also spoke at the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States launch event on Tuesday, announcing that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will create a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to receive timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, and coast-line monitoring via satellite.
On Tuesday, he spoke at the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event, emphasising four pillars of infrastructure development, including sustainable and transparent finance that respects all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Prime Minister met with a number of leaders on the fringes of COP-26, including UP Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and others. PM Modi had already attended the G20 summit in Rome on Saturday and Sunday. On the sidelines of the G20, Putin also met with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
PM Modi met Pope Francis on Saturday and gave him with a silver candle stand and a book about India's environmental commitment during their meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. During a "very warm" encounter at the Vatican City, Prime Minister Modi also invited Pope Francis to visit India.
