International diplomacy is all about optics and PM Modi excels when it comes to this seminal rule. The personality cult built around the Bharatiya PM, much criticized by the opposition and the Western media, goes a long way in sending the right messages to the world about Bharat’s increasing geopolitical clout.
When the PM attends an international meet, one can be sure that he will turn this into an opportunity to not just communicate Bharat’s position to the world, but also make it an occasion of display of Bharat’s soft power. PM Modi was in Italy this Friday to attend the G7 Summit (G7- Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). Although Bharat is not an official member of the G7, PM Modi attended the summit held in the Fasano city of Italy’s Apulia region at the invitation of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.
The” Melody” hashtag has been trending on X since PM Modi left for Italy to attend the summit. It’s still making huge rounds on social media platforms even though the PM is back in Bharat. The “Melodi” hashtag is the first of its kind that has become a sort of bridge between the world of international politics and popular culture, providing comic respite to netizens as they share innumerable memes, many of them not exactly in good taste. But the point here is that the “Melodi” moment is symbolically loaded with geopolitical significance.
The hashtag Melodi was first used by the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni herself in December 2023 as she posted a selfie with PM Modi on both X and Instagram with the hashtag Melodi ( Meloni and Modi). #Melodi dominated X, accumulating 1.28 billion impressions globally, with approximately 267,000 tweets and mentions. The Italian PM’s post incorporating the hashtag garnered about 45 million views, 450,000 likes, and nearly 60,000 shares.
PM Modi and the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni are currently one of the most powerful world leaders. Most importantly, they are strong right-wing leaders who rose to power in their respective countries through democratic mechanisms, backed by a strong mandate of the public. Giorgia Meloni’s ascent to power came at a time when Europe was dominated by left-wing or centrist governments.
The Western media wasn’t exactly very kind to her when she won the elections and the coverage of her election victory labeled her a far-right leader and portrayed a problematic scenario for Italy since she came to power. However, the tone of the Western media seems to have changed now since Giorgia Meloni’s coalition won the European elections by a comfortable margin. Thus, the West has no other option but to engage with her.
This certainly has parallels with PM Modi’s phenomenal rise to power and the Western media’s labeling of the Modi government as “far-right”, “Hindutva majoritarian”, etc. Thus, the “Melodi” moment is loaded with geopolitical significance in a fast-changing world order.
Following the successful completion of the G7 summit, the Italian PM also posted a brief selfie video with PM Modi from both her X and Instagram accounts, in which she can be seen greeting the netizens exuberantly by saying, “Hello from the Melodi team”! Her post has garnered about 287k likes on her X account and more than 966,587 likes on her Instagram account. It’s all about optics. Social media can be used in fun and creative ways to make the public tune into the world of geopolitics and the phenomenal success of the Melodi hashtag has proven that.
Moving on from the Melodi moment, PM Modi also used the occasion of the G7 summit to bust the opposition propaganda about “democracy in danger” in Bharat. The Bharatiya PM addressed an outreach session on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean during the summit. In his address, PM Modi highlighted the recently held Lok Sabha elections and said that the blessings the people of Bharat bestowed on him in the form of a historic win in the polls are a “victory of democracy”.
He also emphasized the role played by technology in conducting free and fair elections in Bharat; PM Modi also shared some figures to underline the gigantic scale of the Lok Sabha elections held between April 19 and June I in seven phases. The counting of votes took place on June 4.
The INDIA alliance has been spreading rampant misinformation about the election results ever since they came out. Even though the BJP emerged as the single largest party bagging 240 seats and the NDA coalition crossed the 272-majority mark comfortably, the INDIA alliance peddled the narrative that since BJP didn’t secure a clear majority on its own, it’s a verdict against PM Modi. The Western media too parroted this narrative showcasing the election results as some sort of dumbing down of PM Modi and his party. Hence, it was important to publicly counter this propaganda and what better occasion to do it than G7.
PM Modi also called for the inclusive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies during the G7 summit. He emphasized the need for keeping AI open and transparent and free from the monopoly of big tech. Bharat has been a pioneer in the innovative use of AI technologies for public service delivery. The country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been a game changer by enabling secure, inclusive, and seamless transactions. UPI has revolutionized Bharat’s payment sector with everybody from vegetable vendors to street vendors using the system for payments. Even countries like Japan, Singapore, France, UAE, the UK, etc. have reportedly shown interest in embracing the UPI model.
Bharat has emerged as a leader of the Global South during the first two terms of the Modi government. African Union became a permanent member of the G20 during Bharat’s hosting of the G 20 summit in 2023. During his visit to the G7 summit, PM Modi reiterated Bharat’s commitment to the Global South during his speech at the outreach event. He emphasized that Bharat had considered its responsibility to put the concerns and priorities of the Global South on the world stage.
The Bharatiya PM also posted on X regarding Bharat’s commitment to the development of countries of the Global South. “Reiterated India’s commitment to speak about the well-being of the Global South, which is ironically a major sufferer during any global uncertainty. India will also continue working closely with Africa, a glimpse of which was seen during past year’s G20 summit when African Union became a permanent member of the forum and that too during India’s Presidency”, he wrote on X.
A major turning point in Bharat’s engagement with the Global South was the Corona period; when Western countries were busy hoarding vaccines and many poor nations struggled to get the corona-vaccine, Bharat pioneered the concept of “vaccine diplomacy”, supplying made in Bharat corona vaccine free of cost to many countries of the Global South. Also, Bharat has consistently raised the concerns of the Global South at international forums like the United Nations. Bharat has also presented to the UN an extensive model of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform that seeks greater representation from African, Asia Pacific, Latin American, and Caribbean states.
Another significant development at the G7 summit was the 7 members’ renewed commitment to promoting key infrastructure projects, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The commitment was outlined in the G7 Summit Communique, issued Friday evening.
PM Modi also held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy. He held discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and others.
Under the leadership of PM Modi, Bharat has been a regular invitee to the G7 meets. This signifies the evolving dynamics of Bharat’s engagement with the West; the country’s growing economic and geopolitical clout gives it more room to engage with the West on its own terms and conditions. With elections due in many Western countries, political uncertainty looms large.
Also, the Russia-Ukraine war has shaken the economic stability of Europe. Even though Bharat has. Refused to take the line of the West vis-à-vis Russia, its increasing economic and geopolitical clout makse it an important stakeholder in the global decision-making process. Also, the West looks at Bharat as an alternative to China and thus, the West needs the cooperation of Bharat to contain China.
