Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to leave for Italy on Thursday) to participate in the 50th G7 Summit, scheduled on June 13 and 14. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has invited PM Modi to the G7 Outreach Summit in Puglia on June 14.
Addressing a special briefing on PM Modi’s upcoming visit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, “At the invitation of Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling to Apulia, Italy tomorrow to participate in the 50th G7 Summit which is to be held there on June 14 where India has been invited as an Outreach Country.”
Notably, this will mark Modi’s first overseas travel after assuming office in his third consecutive term as Prime Minister.
“It will also afford him an opportunity to engage with other world leaders present at the G7 Summit on issues of importance to India as also to the Global South,” Kwatra said.
During the Summit, PM Modi is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Giorgia Meloni.
“They last met during the COP28 Summit in Abu Dhabi in December 2023,” Kwatra said.
In the meeting, the two Prime Ministers are expected to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties and give directions for next steps, he said.
Italy is the Chair of G7 this year and is hosting the Summit of the informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies which also includes Canada, France, Germany Japan the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. This will be India’s eleventh participation in the G7 summit and PM Modi’s fifth consecutive participation in the G7 summit.
On June 14, PM Modi will also participate in the outreach session along with the other countries, who are invited for the outreach summit. At this summit, the focus will be on Artificial intelligence (AI), energy, Africa and the Mediterranean, which will be a block agenda item where the G7 and the outreach countries will share their views and perspectives, Kwatra noted.
“The G7 points to increasing recognition and contribution of the efforts that India has been consistently making including those of peace, security, development and environment preservation,” Vinay Kwatra said.
India’s participation at this G7 summit required particular salience in the context of India’s presidency of G20 where India took a leading role in building global consensus on number of contentious issues.
The G7 summit under the Italian presidency has chosen some key priorities for the current year, in broad terms. These included conflict in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East with its consequences for the global agenda; secondly, relationship with developing nations and emerging economies with a focus on Africa and the Indo-Pacific region; third, migration, together with climate energy linakges and food security and; last, the Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“PM’s participation in the G7 summit would also provide a timely opportunity to follow up outcomes of the G20 Summit held under India’s presidency last year and deliberate on issues focused on the global south,” he said.
PM Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with the G7 leaders on the sidelines of the Summit.
“On the sidelines of the G7 in Italy, PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings and discussions with the leaders of the G7 as also the outreach countries and the international organisations,” Kwatra said.
Moreover, Italy has also invited Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia and also UN.
The two countries have close and friendly relations with the two modern and mature democracies, committed to the rule of law, respect for human rights and achieving economic development through inclusive growth.
The countries celebrated 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations last year.PM Modi visited Italy for the G20 Summit in October 2021 and the Italian PM visited India on a State visit in March 2023 and was Chief Guest at the Raisina Dialogue. She also visited India for the G20 Summit.
India-Italy bilateral relations were upgraded to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’ with a focus on defence, Indo-Pacific, energy and science & technology during her visit.
There have been several high-level engagements between the two sides since the State visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.