In a delightful encounter during the COP28 climate action summit in Dubai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Italian counterpart, Georgia Meloni. The internet was set abuzz when Meloni shared a spontaneous selfie with Modi, coining the hashtag #Melodi to capture the moment.
Captioning the photo as “Good friends at COP28,” the Italian far-right leader showcased the lighter side of diplomacy. Modi, reposting the image on X (formerly Twitter), expressed, “Meeting friends is always a delight.” The selfie quickly gained momentum, causing the hashtag Melodi to trend on the platform.
Meloni’s post garnered an impressive 23.9 million impressions within 24 hours, accompanied by 2.96 lakh likes. Renowned Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej commended the interaction, stating, “Love this!! This is diplomacy at its best. Candid, improvised, fun and with loads of mutual respect.”
As the news spread, netizens took to creating memes featuring the two world leaders under the trending hashtag Melodi.
One X user commented, “It’s really good to see the light mood of World Leaders.” Another remarked, “The meme community claims the decisive victory.” A third user highlighted the excitement within the Indian meme creators, saying, “You can’t imagine the happiness on the face of meme creators in India After this pic. They were eagerly waiting for this.”
Reflecting on the strong ties between the two nations, a user mentioned, “This post by Madam @GiorgiaMeloni might break all viral records. Nice choice of hashtag #Melodi.”
This encounter echoes the camaraderie established earlier when Meloni visited India for the G20 summit in September. During her visit, Modi presented her with a Patan Patola scarf, a meticulously crafted textile from the Salvi family in northern Gujarat’s Patan area, celebrated for its vibrant colors and seamless design.