Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday officially closed the G7 Summit in the Apulia region of southern Italy, with a reference to her talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the two leaders explored opportunities to strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership.

As the country holding the presidency for the Group of Seven industrialised nations, Italy hosted the leaders of participant nations -- the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and the European Union (EU).

She also hosted representatives from 11 countries representing the Global South, including India.

Prime Minister Modi held bilateral talks with Meloni on Friday evening towards the end of his day-long visit to join the Outreach session and hold a series of bilaterals on the sidelines.

"With Mr Modi, we explored opportunities to strengthen our strategic partnership which began in 2022," Meloni told reporters in her concluding media briefing on Saturday.

Presenting some highlights from the G7 deliberations, Meloni pointed to the delegates' commitment to the Indo-Pacific region as a 'clear signal to China'.

"We are open to dialogue but our companies must be able to compete on an equal footing within a free and fair market," she said.   -- PTI