India at the 51st G7 Summit, Canada

Inspiration Study Circle India at the 51st G7 Summit, Canada

The 51st G7 summit, and the 57th annual meeting of the G7, was held from June 16 to 17, 2025, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.

The 2025 summit was the first summit for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. It was also the first summit for U.S. President Donald Trump since the 45th G7 summit in 2019.

The visit marked the first international visit to Canada for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, and marked the second visit to Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump and the first visit since the 44th G7 summit in 2018.

PM Narendra Modi’s presence at the Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Canada to attend the annual G7 Summit, where he discussed important global issues and highlighted the issues of the Global South at the international forum. PM Modi also held a host of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.

This was Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Canada since relations with the North American country slumped over the last two years over then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support to separatists and radical elements acting against India and Indian interests. India and Canada now aim to iron out differences with Prime Minister Mark Carney at the helm of the Canadian government. During last year’s diplomatic fallout between the two nations, India’s foreign ministry had squarely pinned the blame on Justin Trudeau and the actions taken under his leadership.

This year’s G7 marks the 51st summit, and the completion of half a century for the leading multilateral forum. It is being held in Canada’s Alberta in a town named Kananaskis, which has previously hosted the G8 Summit in 2002. Though India is not a part of the G7 grouping, it has been invited for the global summit each year for the last six years and twelve times in total.

Canadian PM Mark Carney received Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived at the venue of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. Following this, PM Modi met world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Lee Jae-Myung, President of the Republic of Korea, and others.

Prime Minister Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, on the sidelines of the summit. He expressed gratitude for the invitation to the G7, saying, “I am very grateful to you for inviting India to the G7, and I am also fortunate that I have got this opportunity to visit Canada once again after 2015 and connect with the people of Canada.”

Emphasising India’s role on the global stage, PM Modi said, “India is the largest democratic country in the world. As the chair of the G20 Summit, India has taken many initiatives that are beneficial for the world. Today, there is a great opportunity to take the strong foundation that India has laid in the G20 in a new form towards its execution in the G7. India has always been willing to use this opportunity for global good and will remain so in the future too.”

Prime Minister Modi also held a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, marking their first meeting since Chancellor Merz assumed office in May 2025. PM Modi expressed appreciation for the German government’s condolences following the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad. The two leaders agreed that terrorism continues to pose a significant threat to global peace and stability.

On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Modi met Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, boosting India-Mexico’s warm and historical ties. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. The two leaders explored avenues to deepen cooperation in trade, pharmaceuticals, science and technology, digital innovation, and discussed key global and regional issues, particularly those relevant to the Global South.

PM Modi also met Lee Jae-Myung, President of the Republic of Korea. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the Special Strategic Partnership between their countries. The partnership would be advanced through new initiatives in trade and economy, critical and emerging technologies, green hydrogen, shipbuilding, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

Amongst other key bilateral meetings, PM Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders were seen sharing a hug as they greeted each other warmly, reflecting the continued strength of Indo-French ties.

PM Modi also met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, all on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.

What is the G7?

The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a “non-enumerated member”. It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government. G7 members are major IMF advanced economies.

Originating from an ad hoc gathering of finance ministers in 1973, the G7 has since become a formal, high-profile venue for discussing and coordinating solutions to major global issues, especially in the areas of trade, security, economics, and climate change.^[4] Each member’s head of government or state, along with the EU’s Commission president and European Council president, meet annually at the G7 Summit; other high-ranking officials of the G7 and the EU meet throughout the year. Representatives of other states and international organizations are often invited as guests, with Russia having been a formal member (as part of the G8) from 1997 until its expulsion in 2014.

The G7 is not based on a treaty and has no permanent secretariat or office. It is organized through a presidency that rotates annually among the member states, with the presiding state setting the group’s priorities and hosting the summit; Canada presides for 2025.

While lacking a legal or institutional basis, the G7 is widely considered to wield significant international influence; it has catalyzed or spearheaded several major global initiatives, including efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, provide financial aid to developing countries, and address climate change through the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The G7 countries have together a population of about 780 million people (or almost 10% of the world population), comprise around 50% of worldwide nominal net wealth, and as of 2024, more than 44% of world nominal GDP and about 30% of world GDP by purchasing power parity.

Organization of the Summit

The annual G7 summit is attended by each member’s head of government. The member country holding the G7 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year’s summit. The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways, including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time and series. Generally, every country hosts the summit once every seven years. Besides a main meeting in June or July, a number of other meetings may take place throughout the year.

Disclaimer: The information and statistics are taken from the following sources- The Hindu, Hindustan times, and Wikipedia.

Inspiration Study Circle

India at the 51st G7 Summit, Canada

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Inspiration Study Circle India at the 51st G7 Summit, Canada

PM Narendra Modi’s presence at the Summit

What is the G7?

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