Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Pope Francis on Saturday and discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making the planet better by fighting climate change and removing poverty during their first-ever one-on-one meeting.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to meet Francis since he became Pope in 2013, extended an invitation to the Catholic Church’s head to visit India.

It may be recalled that Pope John Paul II paid a visit to India in 1999, while Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. According to sources, the Pope has been invited to visit India during Modi’s term as Prime Minister.

According to them, the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis, which was supposed to last 20 minutes, lasted an hour.

According to insiders, they discussed a wide range of issues aimed at improving the planet, including combating climate change and alleviating poverty.

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At the Vatican, Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican City State.

Ahead of the historic meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday said that the Vatican has not set an agenda for the meeting. “I believe, tradition is not to have an agenda when you discuss issues with His Holiness. And I think we would respect that,” he had said.

“I am sure the issues would cover a range of areas of interest in terms of the general global perspectives and issues that are important to all of us, COVID-19, health issues, how we can work together to maintain peace and tranquility and this is something that, I think would be the general trend in the discussions,” he had added.

With Inputs from Associated Press