The Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi has accepted the invitation of President of Unites States (U.S.) – Donald Trump of having extended members in Group of Seven (G7) Summit and attending the Summit later in the year.
G7 is an international Inter-Governmental economic organization consisting of the 7 largest economies of the world. These include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom (U.K.) and U.S. The European Union (EU) is an invitee to G7. The annual G7 Summit includes the 7 Heads-Of-Government from these 7 countries.
A Statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) read, “President Trump spoke about the US Presidency of the Group of Seven and conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the grouping beyond the existing membership, to include other important countries including India. In this context, he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit to be held in the USA.”
Prior to this on Tuesday, i.e., June 2, 2002, Trump spoke to Modi for 25 minutes over phone where the former told the latter about expanding the size and scope of the grouping of the major world economic powers. Inviting Modi to attend the G7 Summit, Trump also discussed a range of topics including COVID-19, India-China Stand-off in Ladakh and the U.S.’s decision to terminate ties with World Health Organisation (WHO).
Trump wants to expand the grouping to include India, South Korea, Australia, and possibly Russia. China, the world’s second largest economy and Brazil, whose economy is larger than at least four of the current G7 Members, are not a part of G7. Meanwhile, Russia appreciated the idea of expanding the size of G7 but didn’t liked the idea of rejecting China.
Speaking on the occasion, the Spokesperson for Russian Foreign Ministry – Maria Zakharova said, “The idea of an expanded G7 summit is, in general, a step in the right direction, but does not really mean a true representation. For instance, it is obvious that it is hardly possible to implement serious global initiatives without China.”
Accepting the invitation, Modi said Trump’s views of expanding the size and scope of G7 are creative and show a far-sighted approach. He said that such development will be very important in keeping with the emerging realities of the post-COVID-19 world. The PM also said he would be happy to work with the U.S. and other countries to ensure the success of the Summit.
Sharing his thoughts on twitter, Modi tweeted, “Had a warm and productive conversation with my friend President @realDonaldTrump. We discussed his plans for the US Presidency of G-7, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other issues.”
He further tweeted, “The richness and depth of India-US consultations will remain an important pillar of the post-COVID global architecture.”
The G7 which was supposed to be held in June 2020 has been shifted to September 2020, owing to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. It will now be held on the sidelines of annual UN General Assembly meeting.
The 2 leaders spoke at length after Trump visited India in February 2020. The U.S. and India have been engaging at various levels on a regular basis. This was the highest level of engagement since the 2 leaders spoke last in April 2020, where Trump asked Modi for Hydroxychloroquine for containing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition, the Defence Minister of India – Rajnath Singh had spoken to where he informed his counterpart there is a bilateral mechanism to resolve the ongoing India-China stand-off.
