G7 Summit: PM Narendra Modi to meet Biden, Macron, Kishida; no word on Trudeau

People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that bilateral meetings or pull-asides had been finalised with several world leaders attending the summit being held at the resort of Fasano

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on the margins of the G7 Summit in Italy on Friday.

Modi has been invited to the outreach session of the G7 Summit. (PTI photo)

People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that bilateral meetings or pull-asides had been finalised with several world leaders attending the summit being held at the resort of Fasano.

However, there was no word on whether Modi will hold talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is a special invitee to the summit.

Modi has been invited to the outreach session of the G7 Summit along with the leaders of several other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, and he is set to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), energy, Africa, the Mediterranean and issues crucial to the Global South during his participation in the discussions.

Soon after landing in Italy, Modi said in a post on X: “Looking forward to engaging in productive discussions with world leaders. Together, we aim to address global challenges and foster international cooperation for a brighter future.”

The focus is on the upcoming encounter between Modi and Biden, which could be a pull-aside instead of a bilateral meeting because of time and scheduling constraints, the people cited above said. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since they held talks over dinner in New Delhi on the margins of last year’s G20 Summit.

While the meeting will be an opportunity for Modi and Biden to take stock of the growing India-US partnership, especially ahead of a visit to New Delhi next week by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the American side has made it clear that it will continue to pursue the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil “at very senior levels”.

Responding to questions from the media on the issue while en route to Italy, Sullivan said the US has made its views known on this issue, and “it will be a continuing topic of dialogue between the US and India, including at very senior levels”.

Biden spoke with Modi by phone to congratulate him on his third term as prime minister and expects to see Modi on the margins of the G7 Summit, Sullivan said.

India has set up a high-level inquiry committee to look into inputs provided by the US on the so-called “murder for hire” plot, and senior officials have said a probe is being conducted as the matter affects the country’s national security.

Modi is also set to have bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The people said a meeting or pull-aside is also possible with Zelenskyy, whom Modi had met on the margins of last year’s G7 Summit in Japan.

There is little likelihood of an encounter between Modi and Trudeau, given the sharp downturn in India-Canada ties. Relations between the two sides cratered after Trudeau alleged Indian government agents had a potential link to the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June last year. India, which had declared Nijjar a terrorist, dismissed Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd”.