Though India is not a G7 member, Modi has been consistently invited to the forum since 2019, underscoring India’s growing global stature
Digital Desk: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at Calgary International Airport on Tuesday as he attends the G7 summit taking place at the Kananaskis Village in Alberta. It will be his first trip to Canada since 2015; it will be a visit that was invited by the newly elected Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. The visit is of significant diplomatic importance because there have been years of tense relationships between India and Canada.
The G7 Summit that commenced on Monday consists of two days and involves heads of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, and the European Union. They also include representatives of world bodies like the United Nations, World Bank, and IMF.
PM Modi will be a guest in this city for a 23-hour visit, and he will participate in the Outreach Sessions and also conduct a bilateral discussion with various world leaders. This meeting is being organized only a few weeks after India launched its operation Sindoor, a strike against the terror network in Pakistan on April 22 at Pahalgam.
Although India is not a G7 member, India has been consistently invited to the G7 since 2019, highlighting the increased international status of India. In a post-election address before departing, he underlined the importance of enhancing relations between India and Canada, saying that both countries are vibrant democracies and are linked in the culture of people-to-people relations.
The visit is amid moves to patch up a bilateral relationship that deteriorated following assassination in 2023 of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Subsequently, diplomatic expulsions took place and India upbraided the Trudeau administration for harboring pro-Khalistani elements. Nevertheless, the invitation by Carney is a pointer in the direction of restoring trust.
Trade in goods and trade in services continue to be solid, at the level of $8.6 billion and $ 14.3 billion in 2024, respectively. During such an encounter of Modi with Carney on the sidelines of the G7, the only point to be noted will be the restoration of the diplomatic relationship between the two and the opportunities for future collaboration.
One of the objectives of the summit is also to discuss some global issues like the war in Ukraine and Russia, the situation in the Middle East, and instability in the global economy.
