Barely four days after being sworn in for his third consecutive term, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first official trip abroad to attend the G7 summit in Italy.
India was one of 12 countries invited to the summit, held in the resort town of Fasano in Italy’s Apulia region.
This was the 50th summit of the G7 (Group of Seven), a group of the world’s most advanced economies, including the United States, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, and Germany. The leaders of these economies are often branded as like-minded and an exclusive, elitist club.
Who attended the June G7 summit?
Italian PM Georgia Meloni, in an attempt to move away from the “wealthy West versus the rest” image, also invited a record number of 12 other countries to attend the “Outreach” session of the G7 summit.
These included Pope Francis from Vatican, King of Jordan, and heads of state from India, Ukraine, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, UAE, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania, which holds the presidency of the African Union.
In addition, the secretary-general of the United Nations and heads of the World Bank, the IMF, the African Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) were also present.
The chiefs of the European Council and the European Commission also joined the sessions.
Modi’s Global South push
PM Modi attended the G7 summit on 13-14 June. This was his fifth consecutive year of attendance at the summit.
At the summit, PM Modi participated in several outreach sessions and met with the US President Joe Biden, and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
He also held bilateral talks with British PM Rishi Sunak, Italian PM Meloni, Japan PM Fumio Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Among the range of topics discussed, Modi took part in sessions around artificial intelligence (AI), energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
He stressed India’s commitment to advocating for the well-being of the Global South.
India has considered it its responsibility to put priorities and concerns of the Global South countries on the world stage, Modi said at the summit.
He also underlined India’s resolve to forge closer ties with Africa, citing the landmark moment when the African Union became a permanent member of the G20 during India’s presidency.
“The countries of the Global South are bearing the brunt of global uncertainties and tensions. India has considered it its responsibility to place the priorities and concerns of the countries of the Global South on the world stage. We have given high priority to Africa in these efforts,” he said.
#Melodi moment
One of the most viral moments from the summit for India was the selfie video that Meloni and Modi took, terming it #Melodi.
“Hello from the Melodi team,” said Meloni as both leaders were seen laughing in the short clip.
Notably, “Melodi” rhymes with a popular Indian candy of the same name (spelled ‘Melody’) whose ads are viral nationally for years, becoming a part of national humour due to the catchy tagline “Why’s Melody so Chocolate-y?”
While the hashtag immediately started trending on Indian Twitter (X), this was also a callback to December last year, when the two leaders had first clicked a selfie on the sidelines of the COP28 in Dubai.
While sharing the picture on X, Meloni had said: “Good friends at COP28, #Melodi.”
‘One Tree for Mother’
Modi also urged G7 leaders to take part in India’s Mission LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment) initiative.
Launched on account of Environment Day, Modi stressed on the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (One Tree for Mother) campaign, which urges everyone to plant a tree in the name of their mother.
“Everyone loves their mother. With this feeling, we want to make tree plantation a mass movement with personal touch and global responsibility. I urge all of you to join it,” Modi said at the summit.
Centre-stage at G7
Italy, the host of the summit, gave Modi prominent placement during Friday’s events.
Modi was placed at centre-stage for a group photo, flanked by world leaders on both sides.
He used the opportunity to dart over to US President Biden for a brief chat. He also shared a photo of a similar greeting with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
A photo of the two leaders together, neither smiling, was posted by Modi on X.
According to a spokesperson for the Canadian PMO, “The (Canadian) Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his re-election and the leaders had a brief discussion on the bilateral relationship.” This statement cited by news outlet Globe and Mail. ”Of course, there are important issues between our two countries right now. You can appreciate that we won’t be making any further statements at this time,” the statement added.
Notably, this was the first meeting between Modi and Trudeau since the latter’s statement that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year.
Canada is set to host the next G7 leaders’ meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, in 2025.
India was invited for the previous G7 events in Italy, Germany, Japan, and the UK.
However, India was not an invitee when Canada last hosted the summit in 2018, and one couldn’t be sure if Canada will change that trend in its next hosting of the G7 grouping next year.
