Finance
By:Shree1news, 18 JAN 2021
Almost a fortnight after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed “regret” that he wouldn’t be able to go to India as Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations in view of the pandemic, he has invited the Indian Prime Minister to the UK for the G7 summit in June this year.
Johnson, who had extended an invitation to Modi during a phone call last year, additionally reiterated his plan to go to India ahead of the G7 summit.
The proposed summit would be the first in-person G-7 summit in almost two years, as it will be held within the English region of Cornwall from June 11 to 13. Apart from India, Australia and South Korea have also been invited as guest countries as a testament to UK’s dedication to making sure multilateral institutions better reflect today’s world, in accordance with a statement issued by the British government.
Modi had attended the G-7 summit in Biarritz in France in August 2019 and was additionally invited for the 2020 summit hosted by the US — which couldn’t happen as a result of pandemic.
That is expected to be Modi’s second G-7 summit; his predecessor Manmohan Singh had attended the G-8 summit (it became G-7 from G-8 with the expulsion of Russia in 2014) five times between 2005 and 2009 through his first term in UPA 1.
Making the invitation official, Johnson stated: “As essentially the most outstanding grouping of democratic countries, the G7 has long been the catalyst for decisive international action to tackle the greatest challenges we face. From cancelling developing world debt to our universal condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the world has looked to the G7 to apply our shared values and diplomatic would possibly to create a more open and prosperous planet.
“Coronavirus is doubtless the most destructive force we have seen for generations and the greatest test of the modern world order we have experienced. It is only right that we approach the challenge of building back better by uniting with a spirit of openness to create a better future,” he said Sunday.
The UK proposes to make use of the G7 Presidency to unite main democracies to assist the world construct again better from Covid towards a greener, more prosperous future, the statement stated. And address shared challenges, from beating coronavirus and tackling climate change, to ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery.
The G7, which includes UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA and the EU, is the only forum the place the world’s most influential and open societies and advanced economies gather for discussions.
Ahead of the summit, the UK can also be set to host a number of ministerial meetings throughout the year to cover economic, environmental, health, trade, technology, development and foreign policy issues.
The summit itself will be held in the coastal town of Carbis Bay, supported by neighbouring St. Ives and different cities across the Cornwall area.
In February, UK will assume the Presidency of the UN Security Council, and, later this year, it would host the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and a global education conference.
British officials stated that as “pharmacy of the world”, India already supplies more than 50 per cent of the world’s vaccines, and UK and India have worked closely together throughout the pandemic. “Our Prime Ministers speak often and Prime Minister Johnson has stated he will visit India forward of the G7,” a British official stated.
Source:A-N
