Boris Johnson invites PM Modi to UK for June G7 summit

The UK has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the G7 Summit, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use to ask global leaders to seize the opportunity to rebuild the world after the Covid-19 pandemic to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous.

The summit will be held in Cornwall during June 11-13, and the UK will use its G7 presidency to “unite leading democracies to help the world build back better from the coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future”, said a statement by the British high commission.

Besides India, Australia and South Korea have also been invited as guest countries to the first in-person G7 Summit in almost two years.

As the “pharmacy of the world, India already supplies more than 50% of the world’s vaccines, and the UK and India have worked closely together throughout the pandemic. Our prime ministers speak regularly and Prime Minister Johnson has said he will visit India ahead of the G7”, the statement said.

Prime ministers and presidents from the world’s leading democracies will come together in the UK to address shared challenges, from beating the coronavirus and tackling climate change to ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery.

The G7 — made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US — is the only forum where the world’s most influential and open societies and advanced economies are brought together for close-knit discussions. The heads of government of the member states, as well as the representatives of the European Union, meet at the annual G7 Summit.

The UK invited the leaders of India, Australia and South Korea to attend as guest countries to “deepen the expertise and experience around the table”, the statement said.

The invitation to three countries is also a “testament to the UK’s commitment to ensuring multilateral institutions better reflect today’s world”, it said.

The UK was the first P5 member to support a permanent UN Security Council seat for India and the first G7 member to invite India to a G7 Summit in 2005. As current president of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) and G20 president in 2023, “India will play a key role driving in multilateral cooperation helping to build back better around the world”, the statement said.

Johnson plans to use the G7 Summit to intensify cooperation between the world’s democratic and technologically advanced nations. Between them, the 10 leaders represent more than 60% of the people living in democracies around the world.

The UK will also host several meetings throughout the year between government ministers from the G7, both virtually and in different locations across Britain.