Italian PM Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie with Narendra Modi from last year’s G7 summit while extending her greetings to the Indian PM on his 75th birthday.
Praising Modi’s leadership, Meloni wrote: “Happy 75th birthday to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His strength, determination, and ability to lead millions of people are a source of inspiration. With friendship and esteem, I wish him health and energy to continue guiding India toward a bright future and to further strengthen the relations between our Nations.”
The post revived the viral “#Melodi” trend...a social media moniker celebrating the camaraderie between the two leaders that first caught on in 2023.
Meloni’s latest selfie was taken on the sidelines of the 2023 G7 Summit, where the pair were seen smiling and waving at the camera. She captioned it with the words: “Hello from the Melodi team.”
Modi responded: “Long live India-Italy friendship!”
This was the second such selfie the Italian leader has shared with Modi. The first came during the COP28 Summit in 2023, when she introduced the hashtag #Melodi to the world.
As with their earlier appearances together, social media users flooded X with memes.
One quipped that the photo looked like “your English teacher and PT teacher.”
Another joked with a Bollywood reference: “Aagaya ji Aagaya. Call aa gaya,” echoing the famous line from the Amir Khan starrer PK.
Others chimed in with lines like “Friendship hamesha bani rahe.”
Modi’s 75th birthday also drew greetings from several other world leaders. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were among those who extended best wishes.
But the first message came from Washington. According to officials, Donald Trump called Modi late Tuesday night.
Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders also extended birthday wishes to PM Modi on Wednesday.
While the messages from world leaders and the Opposition carried the usual diplomatic and customary birthday wish, Meloni’s selfie stood apart for its viral reach.