Indian social networks can’t have enough of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s selfie with the stylishly dressed Indian Prime Minister; she looks like a college-going teenager overjoyed and overwhelmed to click a photo with her hero and exuberantly tweeting, “Hello, from Team #Melodi.” Even his worst critics will have to admit that our septuagenarian PM has mastered in his simple but unique ways of generating warmth, bonhomie and personal chemistry with world leaders so different from each other. What’s common between Barack Obama and Donald Trump or Trump and Joe Biden or for that matter between Angela Merkel and Giorgia Meloni? Nothing at all. But Narendra Modi got along with all of them famously. Alas, Indians rarely get to see this smiling, laughing visage of their PM, certainly not during the election campaign.
He was invited to attend the G7 outreach sessions. In the group photograph, he is prominently placed in the centre. In brief, he was shown due respect and courtesy. And why not? Compared to the US and the French Presidents and the British and the Canadian Prime Ministers, whose popularity in the opinion polls has plummeted and who face uncertain political fortunes, Narendra Modi has created history by becoming the Indian Prime Minister for the third term, though his own party hasn’t fared as well as expected in the largest electoral exercise in the world in which nearly 700 million voters cast their votes. Are these signs of Indian democracy in the ICU?
PM Modi availed of the opportunity to flag a number of issues that are significant not only for India but for the entire world. Let his words do the talking, “Spoke at the G7 Outreach Session on AI and Energy, Africa and Mediterranean. Highlighted a wide range of subjects, notably, the wide scale usage of technology for human progress. The rise of technology in various aspects of human life has also reaffirmed the importance of cyber security. Spoke about how India is leveraging AI for its development journey. It is important that AI remain transparent, secure, accessible and responsible….
“As far as energy is concerned, India’s approach is based on availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability. We are working to fulfil our COP commitments before the designated time period. India is working to usher in a Green Era, based on the principles of Mission LiFE. Also highlighted the campaign ‘ ’ to make our planet more sustainable.”
PM Modi said that India was the first country to fulfil all its COP commitments ahead of time and was striving hard to achieve the target of Net Zero by 2070.
While recollecting India’s efforts to get the African Union admitted as a full member of G-20, during India’s Presidency in September 2023, PM Modi reiterated India’s commitment to speak for the well-being of the Global South and air their priorities and concerns on the world stage.
Stressing his commitment to consolidate India-Italy strategic partnership, he hoped for higher bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean regions.
How hectic was PM’s schedule in Apulia on his first overseas trip abroad after the elections, can be judged by the fact that he met the US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Pope Francis, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Germany›s Olaf Scholz, Jordan›s Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; understandably, only some in formal setting, others were in brief pull-asides.
We have been hearing for over two decades how the current United Nations, which was born in the aftermath of the Second World War, doesn’t reflect the realities of today’s world, so it is unable to address its problems. The same is true about the G-7, which was founded in 1975 as an informal bloc of the world’s largest industrialised democracies (the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan) in response to the oil shock, the financial crises and ways to cope with recession. Canada joined the group in 1975; it has no HQ nor a secretariat nor a charter; its presidency rotates among members every year and the current president sets the agenda and invites non-members as considered appropriate. Over the years, besides inflation and other economic concerns, several issues like climate change, international security, energy security, AI and migration have figured prominently in the discussions of G-7.
The total GDP of G-7 countries that account for only 10% of the world population (780 million) is US$46.3 trillion. In 2023, as per the IMF, it has come down to 26.4% of the Global GDP, compared to 40% in 2000. Presently, the GDP of BRICS is estimated to be around US$26 trillion. Goldman Sachs feels that BRICS can overtake the GDP of G-7 by 2050. This might happen earlier if countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina that are believed to have evinced interest in joining BRICS, are admitted.
India alone has twice the population of the entire G-7 bloc and her current GDP (US$3.94 trillion) is higher than four members of G-7, namely Italy, France, UK and Canada. So, how can G-7 discuss pressing global issues and come up with workable solutions without including India? It’s high time that India is invited to be a full member of G-7 rather than be invited to outreach sessions that offer the opportunities for holding meetings with counterparts from different nations on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting. At present, the US, whose GDP accounts for over 50% of the total GDP of the G-7, can get any decision including sanctions against a non-member country passed thanks to the support from other members of the bloc. This arbitrariness will be challenged to some extent with India’s inclusion. If they cannot include China, the second largest economy of the world on account of the form of her government, they should invite democracies like Brazil and Indonesia and call it G-10 instead of G-7. India and Brazil have been pressing for higher voting rights in the IMF, but the US, with help from the UK and Japan, can easily stall such demands. It›s high time the international financial institutions changed along with G-7.
* Surendra Kumar is a former ambassador of India.