How India’s presence in G7 summit in Italy was significant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy, was his first foreign trip after assuming office for the third time. It was a significant moment to start his third inning by interacting with the most prominent Western leaders. However, diplomatic outreach began with neighbouring countries being invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Modi 3.0 on June 9, 2024, in line with the neighbourhood first policy.

This was the 11th time that India was invited to the G7 summit. It is the fifth consecutive time that Modi has been invited, and therefore, he is now a regular guest whom other leaders expect to see at their meetings. Having won for the third time, Modi is now among the senior leaders of the G7 and outreach countries.

Moreover, having won a democratic election for the third time, his position was strengthened as a representative of the world’s largest democracy, and his host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was also buoyed by a victory in the European elections, which took her right-wing party to the top of the Italian political sweepstakes.

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Among other G7 leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz both faced losses in the European elections. British PM Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden are both facing strong, negative headwinds in their forthcoming elections this year.

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida is surviving, but a question mark on his continuation after September remains. The EU Commission leader, Ursula von der Leyen, is likely to be reflected. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is challenged for his elections, which are likely in October 2025.

Meloni used her chairmanship of the G7 to focus on Africa, particularly North Africa, which borders the Mediterranean and is from where illegal migrants travel to Italy. Her choice of Apulia, located in the southern state of Bari, is in the ‘heel’ of Italy, if southern Italy is seen as the ‘boot’. It is a less prosperous area. Meloni told interlocutors she chose the point from where she could look at the Global South best by going to the south of Italy. Apulia is located between the Ionian and Adriatic seas.

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Meloni invited Global South leaders, beginning with India. She invited Algeria, the new President of Argentina, G20 Chair Brazil, Jordan, Kenya, AU Chair Mauritania, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. South Africa missed out as their new government was under formation. Thus, four BRICS countries were invited.

While leaving for the Golden Jubilee summit of the G7, PM Modi said that at the G7 he would like to bring greater synergy between the G20 and the G7 and enhance the relationship with Italy. Modi had been to Italy in 2021 for the G20. Summit and Meloni had visited India twice last year, including for the G20 Summit. Infusing momentum and depth into the bilateral agenda was a commitment for the India-Italy strategic partnership.

India’s efforts are also to link the Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean regions, keep them free and open waterways, and harness economic synergy to de-risk from Chinese dominance.

It is evident that the G7 countries want India on their side. The increasing economic stature of India as the fastest growing large economy with a large market, making it important for the G7 countries. Europe in particular is feeling the sting of the Ukraine crisis, the disruption of the trade and energy relationship with Russia, and the unequal economic partnership with China, for which they seek derisking and diversification.

During his day-long visit, Modi participated in the G7 outreach summit, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean. An interaction happened with Pope Francis, who attended the G7 meeting for the first time and spoke about the relationship between artificial intelligence and humans. Modi used this opportunity to emphasise the synergy between the results of the G20 summit under the Indian presidency and the G7 agenda and keep the focus on the Global South.

Beside seeking reforms in international institutions, India, while representing the interests of the Global South, is not interested in remaining an outlier or a recipient of decisions. India needs to be a participant in decision-making, for instance, on the rules that will govern AI. India does not want to be a rule-taker but a rule-maker, and this emerged clearly in Modi’s intervention.

Since the time was short, Modi used the occasion to meet with G7 leaders and not the outreach partners. Modi’s meeting with Meloni, as she calls the duo ‘Melodi’, combined the evident camaraderie between Modi and Meloni. This has led to diversification in the bilateral relationship. The strategic partnership is growing, and the elements of common defence production and partnership are showing significant strides.

A reiteration of the ideas that exist in the bilateral relationships with France, the UK, Germany, and Japan was discussed as Modi met with his counterparts and renewed Indian interest in engaging its important partners in his third term.

These leaders were also happy to see continuity in India, so that no new reassessments were necessary at present and the bilateral agenda could be pursued. With US President Biden, there was a pull aside which had substantive elements that are likely to be taken up during the visit of US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan to India next week.

The only G7 leader who did not have a direct meeting with Modi was Canada’s Justin Trudeau. But Modi did not ignore him, they had a brief interaction on the sidelines of the meeting. Modi also had brief discussions with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

India’s presence at the G7, brings in both economic relevance and robust democratic credentials. Both of these are promoted by the G7. India is a living appreciation of these ideas.

Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has now become a regular invitee to G7 summits since the Ukraine crisis two years ago. Modi had also met him at the Hiroshima G7 summit last year. Since Zelensky has the mood of the house at G7 meetings, India prudently engages him as part of its autonomous diplomacy. In other forums, it engages with Russia and others to try and maintain peace.

The way in which the G7 is proceeding—with dollops of security-related assistance that Japan, the EU, and the US are providing Ukraine—seems contradictory to the peace initiative in Switzerland, which follows the G7 summit.

India’s message of peace delivered by Modi was clear, and while Russia is not invited to the Swiss conference and China is absent, India is engaging there at the official level. Also, there were no clear signs of peace formulas for the on-going wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as much depends on the results of the US presidential elections later this year. Therefore, wisely, India did not engage much on these issues but kept its consistent policy enunciated clearly.

After the neighbourhood interaction at the swearing-in ceremony and now a major immediate interaction with the G7 countries, in July, India will have the opportunity to meet Russia and China during the SCO summit in Astana.

Modi’s participation at the G7, therefore, can be seen as well begun and half done, and this is within a fortnight of his new innings. Under Modi 3.0, Indian diplomacy has much to gain from these early summits.

The writer is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia, ASEAN and the African Union. He tweets @AmbGurjitSingh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.