Hamburg, July 7 (IANS): German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday warmly received Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with leaders of other countries, ahead of the 12th G20 Summit here.

"A warm welcome by a gracious host. Chancellor Merkel receives PM @narendramodi at the beginning of G20 Summit," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted along with pictures of the two leaders.

Modi will attend a leaders' retreat in which heads of state and government of the G20 countries will informally interact with each other.

Later on Friday, the first day of the two-day Summit, two working sessions will be held -- one on global growth and trade and another on sustainable development, climate and energy.

Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the Summit on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Modi attended an informal meeting of the leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations in which he called for strengthening the fight against terrorism and climate change and for BRICS to play its role in the global economic recovery.