As he leaves for Japan on Friday to attend the G-7 summit – India is a special invitee – Prime Minister Narendra Modi called India’s presence “particularly meaningful”. this year. While Mr. Modi was specifically referring to India’s G-20 chairmanship, and it is important to align the G-20 agenda with Japan’s agenda for the G-7 summit, India’s role in the talks later this week There are other reasons for attendance as well. Japan, as the host, takes a fairly tough stance on Russia, with its envoy to India saying that the “message to Putin” should be that Russia must “pay” for its war in Ukraine. While all the G-7 countries – the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union – are united in their efforts to impose further sanctions on Russia, it will be left to India, which has imposed the fine. Thus balancing, to moderate some of that language, especially if joint communications are sought with outreach countries including South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros and the Cook Islands. Neither Russia nor China, the “elephant in the room”, have actually been invited, and India’s position will be even more important for the “voice of the global south”, which Mr Modi has sought to increase in talks about influence. committed to. Sanctions imposed by G-7 countries on developing countries including food, fertilizer and energy security. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to personally accept Japan’s invitation to attend the G-7 summit, and all eyes in India will be on a possible one. Meeting between him and Mr. Modi, which would be the first since the start of the Ukraine war. The G-7 countries will be keenly watching whether Mr. Modi extends an invitation to Mr. Zelensky to address the G-20 summit in September.
Other than this Russia-Ukraine conflictIndia will be at the forefront as G-7 and G-7+ countries discuss debt sustainability and help countries like Sri Lanka avoid the “debt trap”. It will also be a keynote speaker on issues such as building supply chain credibility, leading alternative energy alliances and seeking infrastructure and development assistance in the region. Finally, India’s unique voice, as a nuclear power that is not a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime yet has built an impeccable record in nuclear restraint, will be heard as Japan seeks to send a joint message on nuclear non-proliferation from Hiroshima Is. It was destroyed by an American atomic bomb in 1945. While the heavy lifting for the G-7 summit will be done by Japan and the member states, they are still seen as a small and “elite” group, and jointly India’s weight as a developing power is on its own. With the G-20 presidency making it the important “other” this year, that could leave its mark in making the process more inclusive.