Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, while highlighting India's economic stature and strategic role in global supply chains, said that the country's presence is “essential” at the upcoming G7 Summit.

“It made sense,” Carney said, “to have India, the fifth largest economy, at the G7 Summit." “There are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions in my capacity as G7 chair consultation,” he said. “India is the fifth largest economy in the world, effectively the most populous in the world central to a number of supply chains, so it makes sense… I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi in that context and he has accepted," Carney said on Friday while responding to a question on extending an invitation for the Summit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi also confirmed he would attend the G7 Summit in Canada.

But, why is India's presence important at the G7 Summit? Mint decodes

According to Vina Nadjibulla, Vice President of Research & Strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, “having India at the G7 Summit matters to everybody else.” In an interview on CBC NN, Nadjibulla highlighted how there was a strong push from the other G7 countries to have India at the table.

According to her, Canada is the outlier as other six members of the G7 are interested in deepening their strategic partnerships with India. “In terms of the G7, we are the outlier because the other six members of the G7 are interested in deepening their strategic partnerships with India, deepening their defence technology and economic ties. In fact, every day there is a new announcement about either France of the UK or the US doing more with India,” she said.

“So, having India there also matters to everybody else. I think there was a strong push from other G6 to have India at the table. And I think in order for Canada also to be able to show relevance on the world stage, we can't just engage in diplomacy with those whom we like. I mean, diplomacy is not a gift to our friends. It's not a concession. It's a necessary tool to be able to advance our interests and defend our values,” Nadjibulla added.

Experts say given the increasing economic heft of the country, India cannot be outside the major policy issues confronting the West, an opinion Canada's Carney seconded on Friday.

India surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy in May this year. At present, India's economy is bigger than all the G7 countries except the US and Germany.

India's strengthening ties with Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's two visits to India have been “instrumental in infusing momentum and depth in the bilateral agenda between India and Italy” in PM Modi's own words.

Italy is India's fourth largest trading partner in the European Union, according to the Embassy of India, Rome, Italy. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $14.56 billion in 2023-2024, with India's exports at $8.76 billion.

An India Brand Equity Foundation report said that the Indian community in Italy (estimated at 2.5 lakh including PIOs) is the third largest community of Indians in Europe after the UK and the Netherlands.

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India ranks 15th as the country of origin of Italian imports, accounting for 1.5% of Italian imports, the report added.

While attending the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Italy last year, PM Modi held bilateral discussions with then UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.

India-UK to bolster economic, migration ties

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will be in India to further advance an ambitious UK-India relationship during talks with PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The visit follows the historic Free Trade Agreement agreed between the two countries and will deliver on this government’s commitment to boost jobs and prosperity back in the UK, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, a UK government's press release said on Saturday.

Source: Mint.