G7 Summit Live Updates: After Macron and Sunak, Modi holds talks with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

G7 Summit Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Photo: Narendra Modi/ X)

PM Narendra Modi in Italy, G7 Summit Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the first foreign trip of his third term, arrived in Italy early today to attend an outreach session of the 50th Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ summit. He held discussions with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The G7 session is expected to focus on issues relating to artificial intelligence (AI), energy, Africa and the Mediterranean. On reaching Italy, the Prime Minister said that he was “looking forward to engaging in productive discussions with world leaders”.

What happened on Day 1 of the summit? The G7 leaders’ summit is being held in the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia in Italy’s Apulia region from June 13 to 15. The annual summit gathered representatives of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union (EU). The centrepiece of the opening day was a political agreement on an outline deal to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow invaded its neighbour in 2022.

How has India’s participation in G7 summits been? PM Modi will attend the summit for the fifth time in a row. India has attended 10 G7 summits in the past; this will be the 11th one. On the sidelines, he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings and discussions with the leaders of the G7, as also the Outreach Countries and international organisations. “Together, we aim to address global challenges and foster international cooperation for a brighter future,” the PM said in a post on X after he landed. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told The Indian Express that India’s regular participation points to increasing recognition of the efforts the country has been making in trying to resolve global challenges. It is also a timely opportunity to follow up on outcomes of the G20 summit held under India’s presidency last year.