A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has extended an invitation to India to be part of the next G-7 Summit to be held in the United States, during a telephonic conversation between the two leaders on Tuesday. "President Trump spoke about the US Presidency of the Group of Seven, and conveyed his desire to expand the ambit of the grouping beyond the existing membership, to include other important countries including India. In this context, he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit to be held in USA," a press release issued by the government said.
Commending the US President for his "creative and far-sighted approach," Prime Minister Modi said that "an expanded forum would be in keeping with the emerging realities of the post-COVID world."
"The Prime Minister said that India would be happy to work with the US and other countries to ensure the success of the proposed Summit," said the press release.
The invitation by the US President comes after he remarked earlier this week that the G-7 Summit in its current format comprises "very outdated group of countries." The US President proposed that the G-7 should be expanded to include Australia, Russia, South Korea and India.
Among other issues, the two leaders also discussed the situation at the India-China border, where the militaries of the two countries have been engaged in a military face-off since early last month.
During their telephonic call, PM Modi expressed concern over the ongoing civil unrest across major US cities, sparked by the killing of African American man George Floyd by a police officer in the city of Minneapolis.
President Trump also recalled his visit to India in February this year. Prime Minister Modi said that the visit had been memorable and historic on many accounts and had also added new dynamism to the bilateral relationship, said the release.
