At the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the outreach sessions of the G-7 Summit on 12-13 June in virtual format, it was officially announced here today.
Earlier, Modi was scheduled to visit the United Kingdom to attend the summit. He, however, decided last month against going to the UK in view of the second wave of Covid-19 in India.
The UK currently holds the presidency of the G-7 and has invited India, along with Australia, South Korea and South Africa, as guest countries for the summit. The meeting will be held in hybrid mode.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the theme for the summit is ‘Build Back Better’ and the UK has outlined four priority areas for its presidency. These are: leading the global recovery from Coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics; promoting future prosperity by championing free and fair trade; tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity; and championing shared values and open societies. The leaders are expected to exchange views on the way forward on global recovery from the pandemic with a focus on health and climate change.
This is the second time Modi will be participating in a G-7 meeting. India had been invited by the G-7 French presidency in 2019 to the Biarritz Summit as a “Goodwill Partner” and the Indian Prime Minister participated in the sessions on ‘Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans’ and ‘Digital Transformation’.