G7 Summit: PM Modi Makes A Splash In Germany
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 48th G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps at Schloss Elmau, Krün, Germany from 26 to 28 June.
Sunday was the opening day for bilateral talks with world leaders, where the topic of discussion will be in relation to the environment, food security, health, gender equality, and democracy, the Ministry of External Affairs said earlier this week.
The G7 is a forum that brings together the world's leading industrialised nations, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdoms, and the United States(US). The G7 countries account for 10 per cent of the world population, 31 per cent of global GDP, 21 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, as per the summit website.
In 2021, these countries had an annual public sector expenditure that was higher than revenue. Japan(263 per cent of GDP), Italy (151 per cent) and the US (133 per cent) are heavily indebted. As the US and Germany are the two largest exporters, they play an important role in global trade.
After the world suffered from the first oil shock and the financial crisis, the G7 was formed in 1975 in order to discuss the catastrophic situation in the world.
After a year, Canada joined, followed by Russia in 1998. Following the annexation of Crimea, the G7 Nations held a meeting without Russia in 2014. Previously, the group had been made up of eight nations. The summit is hosted every year by a different country, and in 2022, Germany was responsible for hosting the summit.
India- as a partner-country in the summit
Narendra Modi's 2014 victory has led to this invitation. This was the third time that he had been invited to the summit. The previous year, the Prime Minister had attended the meeting virtually and he was being invited by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the Cornwall Summit.
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the sessions of climate and biodiversity, and digital transformation, at the Biarritz Summit as a "Goodwill Partner".
This year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had invited India to participate in the meet. Other non-member nations at the meet included Argentina, Indonesia, Senegal, and South Africa. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President participated virtually on 27 June.
Not just the countries but the international organisations like the United States, the World Health organisation and the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank actively participated.
G7 Summit Agenda
The main purpose for the 2022 Summit was the- "Progress towards an equitable world." The discussions which were pondered upon were - sustainable planet, economic stability and transformation, improving global health architecture and sustainable investments and strong togetherness.
As the world is facing food shortages and the rapid inflation in the countries- these became the major point of discussion in the summit. As many countries are soaring the fuel prices, there was brainstorming ideas of securing energy supplies.
The summit also looked upon the import of Russian gold as the Russia Ukraine war has now entered into the fifth month. The US in the G7 Summit declared that there will be a ban on Russian gold.
India’s Agenda for the same
Taking to his Twitter Platform, PM Narendra Modi said, "Landed in Munich to participate in the G-7 Summit. I look forward to fruitful discussions with the world leaders during the summit.
The Indian Embassy in Berlin tweeted, "Warm Welcome to PM Shri @narendramodi in #Muenchen to attend the @G7 Summit #G7Germany #AmbHarishParvathaneni and Mrs. Nandita Parvathaneni received PM at @MUC_Airport.
The main agenda to be discussed with the International organisation were the environment, energy, climate, food security health, counter-terrorism, gender equality and democracy.
India- Argentina Ties
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez had a meaningful conversation on the summit's agenda. The two global leaders discussed various ways in which both countries can have commercial as well as cultural links and how to tighten their relationship.
Over the years, both these countries have grown in terms of political, economic, cultural, and scientific and technological cooperation. In 2019, both countries' relationships were refined to the level of strategic partnership. As per the Indian embassy in Argentina, India had established a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, but the facility was converted into India's first embassies in South America in 1949.
Many NRIs and PIOs walk the streets of Buenos Aires, including those who work for Indian companies and multinational corporations.
The India-South Africa alliance
PM Narendra Modi and President Cyril Ramaphosa met at the G-7 Summit. In addition to boosting trade and people-to-people ties, both nations discussed their friendship as a whole, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Twitter. Among the topics discussed by the two leaders were further expanding the bilateral ties in trade, investment, defence, pharmaceuticals, food security, and others. They agreed to continue their close cooperation on both regional and multilateral basis, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Indonesia-India Talks
As part of the Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation vision, India and Indonesia, both these countries, have a similar vision for the same. Both Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was established in May 2018 during the PM's visit to Indonesia.
Furthermore, Indonesia is India's second largest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Not only does it share economic ties, but it also has cultural civilisational ties, as the 9th century Borobudur Buddhist temple and Prambanan Shiva temple are living examples of shared culture. Indonesian folk art is also inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
India- Canada Bonding
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in person for the first time with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, after four years in Germany. A positive tone was set before the meeting. The two PMs exchanged pleasantries and smiles as they posed for a family photo at the G7 summit.
When Trudeau visited India in February 2018, it was the first time that both of them had discussions while sitting across from each other. They had a bilateral meeting on Monday evening in the German resort of Schloss Elmau.
The two met for the first time in person following Trudeau's abrupt remarks on the farmers' protest in the country in December 2020. After that very incident, liberal caucus members as well as Trudeau have not commented on any integral issues of India.
The hidden purpose behind the conversation was that India wants to strengthen the trade relationship between the two countries, especially with the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), before the year end while discussions are still going on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Germany- India Discussion on Climate Action
Continuing their discussions, Narendra Modi and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany emphasised on the issue of "green and sustainable development." Both of them exchanged their views on climate change, the provision of climate financing, and technology transfer.
Earlier this year, both the leaders had met and had expressed their opinions on regional and global developments. They both wish to strengthen the trade relations and the investments that go along with them.
Modi’s Remarks
Bringing the issue of food shortage to the front, Modi made a point that during this challenging time, India has been exporting food grains to many countries, and up to now, 35,000 tonnes of wheat have been exported to Afghanistan as humanitarian aid. As Sri Lanka too is caught up in the catastrophic situation, India is lending its support to them too. He further added that to curb the food shortage issue, countries need to focus on the availability of fertilisers, the value chain of fertilisers and increase the production of fertilisers. He also proposed that next year, on the occasion of the International Year of Millets, countries can run a campaign to encourage such nutritious grains as they make a valuable contribution to the countries.
Emphasising on the issue of gender equality, Modi affirmed that India is promoting women's development to women- lead-development. Not just in the industrial sector but in the decision making too, women are fully involved.
One of the major concerns that the world is facing is climate change. And India only contributes 5 per cent to the global carbon emissions. Modi added that India has met its target of a 10 per cent ethanol blend in gasoline in five months, and it is the first country to have a fully solar-powered airport. In the upcoming decade, India's railway system will also become net zero. It is not just that the circular economy has been an integral part, and today there is a huge market for clean energy technology in India.
Lastly, he gave his remarks on the health issues that yoga is a very important tool for people which will help them in maintaining physical and mental health.
