PM Modi to Travel to Italy This Week for G7 Summit in First Trip Abroad in Third Term

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to Italy this week to attend the annual summit of G7 advanced economies in his first trip abroad after assuming office for the third straight term.

The G7 summit, to be held in the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia in Italy’s Apulia region from June 13 to 15, is likely to be dominated by the raging war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the top leaders attending the summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also scheduled for a session on the Russian invasion of his country.

People familiar with Modi’s planned trip to Italy said he is set to leave for Italy on June 13 and will return late on June 14, adding it will be his first trip abroad after taking charge as the prime minister for the third consecutive term.

There is no official announcement on Modi’s visit to Italy yet.

Modi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that is likely to include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and NSA Ajit Doval, the sources said.

The prime minister is set to hold a number of bilateral meetings including with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Modi had attended the previous G7 summit in Hiroshima in May last year.

On the sidelines of the summit, he had held talks with Zelenskyy and a number of other leaders.

The G7 comprises the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.

Italy is holding the current presidency of the G7 (Group of Seven) and is hosting the summit in that capacity.

A key focus of the Italian presidency has been to defend the rules-based international system.

Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has undermined its principles and triggered growing instability, with multiple crises unfolding worldwide, according to Italy.

The G7 will give equal importance to the conflict in the Middle East, with its consequences for the global agenda, it says.

The bloc expanded into the G8 between 1997 and 2013, with the inclusion of Russia. However, Russia’s participation was suspended in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea.

In line with its tradition, representatives of a number of countries and international organisations are invited to the summit by the host nation that holds the chair.

Besides India, Italy has invited leaders from 11 developing countries in Africa, South America and the Indo-Pacific region to attend the summit.

Though the European Union is not a member of the G7, it attends the annual summit.