‘It’s her Mann Ki Baat’: PM Modi pays tribute to Italy’s Meloni in foreword of her autobiography

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a nod to his radio broadcast as he wrote the foreword to the Indian edition of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s autobiography. In the book, which is scheduled to be launched soon, the prime minister described the autobiography as Meloni’s ‘ Mann Ki Baat’.

In the foreword of the book, Modi also wrote that it has been a “great” honour for him to have written the foreword and that he was doing so with “respect, admiration and friendship” for Meloni. PM Modi went on to state that he considers him a “patriot and outstanding contemporary leader”.

While introducing the book titled “I am Giorgia — My Roots, My Principles (Rupa Publications), Modi recalled how in the past 11 years he has interacted with several world leaders with different life journeys and how their journeys contributed to their personal stories and spoke to something larger.

“Prime Minister Meloni’s life and leadership remind us of these timeless truths… It will be well received (in India) as a refreshing story of an outstanding contemporary political leader and a patriot… Her belief in defending one’s cultural heritage, while engaging with the world on equal terms, mirrors our own values,” Modi wrote in the book.

Modi in all praises for Meloni

The prime minister mainly heaped praises for Meloni and noted more than once how her “inspiring and historic” journey resonated deeply with Indians — and how it was sure to resonate with Indian readers as well. It is pertient to note that the original version of the autobiography was released back in 2021, when Meloni was the leader of the opposition.

She eventually went on to become the country’s first woman prime minister a year later. Interestingly, back in June 2025, the book’s US edition was launched with a brief foreword from Donald Trump Jr, the US President’s eldest son. In the foreword, Trump jr alluded twice to Meloni’s “working class” background and called the memoir an “unfiltered story of the patriotic tidal wave that Meloni would ride”.

In his introduction, PM Modi applauded Meloni for defending “motherhood, national identity and tradition”, and wrote about how India and Italy were bound by much more than treaties and trade.

“We are bound by shared civilizational instincts like the defence of heritage, the strength of community and the celebration of womanhood as a guiding force. Our nations are joined in spirit by a respect for tradition and an embrace of modernity. This is the bedrock of my own personal friendship with Prime Minister Meloni,” the prime minister wrote.