G-7 Summit: PM Modi flying to Italy on Thursday
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In his first overseas trip after assuming charge as the Prime Minister for a third consecutive term, Narendra Modi will on Thursday fly to Italy to attend the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit.
He has been invited by his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni.
After the Summit, India may also join the Ukraine peace talks at an ‘appropriate’ level, the media reported on Wednesday.
The G-7 Summit is being held in Italy from June 13 to 15 in which many nations and organizations will participate to deliberate on several global issues, including climate change and the Middle East tensions.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said after the G-7 Summit, a Ukraine peace Summit will also be held in Switzerland.
Russia, which has been fighting an ongoing war against Ukraine since February 2022, has not been invited to this Summit. Moscow, at loggerheads with the West and NATO, however, said it would not have attended the event anyway.
“India’s regular participation at the G-7 Summit points to increasing recognition of New Delhi’s efforts to address global challenges,” Kwatra said.
This G-7 Summit’s discussions will focus on pressing world events including the devastating war in Palestine, the Ukraine conflict, and climate concerns, among others.
The Summit is being held in Borgo Egnazia (Fasano) in Italy’s Apulia. Italy assumed the Summit’s presidency on January 1. Besides Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States are also members of the group.
Besides these nations, the European Commission will participate to represent the European Union. The African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will be represented by their top leaders.
Pope Francis will also arrive at the Summit to represent the Holy See, the universal government of the Catholic Church which operates from the Vatican City.
The Summit’s first discussion, to be held on Thursday, will be on ‘Africa, climate change and development’, the official website said.
Discussions on the Middle East, Ukraine, and artificial intelligence are also on the cards.
PM Modi’s visit to Italy marks a key step in the India-Italy bilateral ties as the two nations elevated their ties to “strategic partnership” in March 2023. The decision was announced during Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s visit to New Delhi.
