Evian (France): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met and exchanged greetings on the sidelines of a G7 Summit outreach session in France’s Evian on Tuesday.
Both leaders shook hands and held a brief conversation ahead of the G7 working session on ‘Forging New Partnerships and Rebuilding International Solidarity’ which is being attended by the G7 countries, partner nations, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank.
PM Modi and Trump are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday and hold discussions on economic growth, supply chains, Artificial Intelligence (AI), investment partnerships and a range of global security challenges.
This would be the first bilateral meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi after last year’s successful ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan.
The White House said Saturday that the meeting will be held before both leaders join a working lunch attended by the G7 leaders, outreach partners and technology executives.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron warmly welcomed Prime Minister Modi as he arrived to attend the Group of Seven (G7) Summit. PM Modi and Macron hugged and greeted each other as they met ahead of an outreach session which is also being attended by US President Donald Trump and other leaders of the grouping.
Upon arrival in Evian, PM Modi stated that he looked forward to meeting world leaders and exchanging views on key global issues.
“Reached Evian, France for the G7 Summit. Looking forward to engaging with world leaders and exchanging views on key global issues. India remains committed to advancing collective efforts for a more sustainable and prosperous planet”, he wrote on X.
India has been invited as a partner country to the 52nd G7 Summit, being held from June 15 to 17. At the summit, Prime Minister Modi will be engaging with world leaders on issues of importance to India as well as to the Global South. This will be India’s 13th participation at the G7 Summit and Prime Minister Modi’s 7th consecutive participation at the summit.
June 16 and 17 are the days dedicated to outreach sessions of the G7 Summit and PM Modi will participate alongside other invited countries. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the discussions will broadly cover focus on the renewable of international partnerships and development solidarity, fostering shared and balanced growth, and effective and efficient rollout of artificial intelligence.
“India’s regular participation at the G7 Summits reflects the increasing recognition of India’s role and contributions in addressing global challenges relating to peace, security, development and environmental sustainability. Also at the G7, the international forums, including the G20 and the Voice of Global South Summit, India has consistently brought to the forefront the priorities, concerns and developmental aspirations of the Global South,” the MEA stated.
(IANS)
