PM Modi discusses tech and democracy at G7 Summit
During the Outreach Summit in Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described India's election results as a triumph for democracy, highlighting the fairness and transparency of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) used in Indian elections. He emphasized the importance of leveraging technology, such as Artificial Intelligence, to address issues like African development and inequality, in a session that also featured Pope Francis speaking at the G7 for the first time.
Modi met with Biden and Trudeau. He embraced Pope Francis at the start of the event in Italy's Apulia region and had brief meetings with leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, and Italy during a 24-hour visit. Modi shared photos on social media of a brief interaction with U.S. President Joseph Biden, expressing their dedication to working for the greater good globally, although there was no official bilateral meeting between India and the U.S. Modi also shared a picture of shaking hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau without disclosing the nature of their discussion.
Mr. Modi, who traveled to Italy just four days after taking office, referred to the recent European Parliament elections and the upcoming elections in France, the UK, and the US. He stated that the significant victory achieved by his party is not only a win for democracy in India but also for the global democratic community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the G7 outreach summit, prior to the Swiss Peace Summit on Ukraine. Modi pledged to back a peaceful resolution, despite not attending the event in Switzerland himself.
“PM conveyed that India continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, and reiterated that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution,” the MEA said, as sources told The Hindu that MEA Secretary (West) Pavan Kapoor would represent India at the conference in Burgenstock over the weekend, although the invitation and Swiss and Ukrainian ministers had traveled to Delhi to request PM Modi’s presence. India’s decision to send an official rather than high-level political representative is seen in line with the government’s position thus far on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where it has abstained on all resolutions critical of Russia, and kept up ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi held talks with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss strategic ties and the 'India-UK Roadmap 2030' for bilateral relations. A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned that they were pleased with the progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the two nations. However, the agreement is unlikely to move forward until after the UK elections on July 4, where Mr. Sunak's Conservative party is trailing behind the Labour party in polls. The MEA stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his best wishes to the people of the United Kingdom as they gear up for the upcoming general elections next month.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose party is gearing up for parliamentary elections on June 30 following a surprising loss to the Far-right in the European Parliament elections, also held discussions with PM Modi on Friday. As per the official statement, the two leaders discussed various aspects of their relationship, including collaboration in defense, nuclear technology, space exploration, education, environmental efforts, digital infrastructure, connectivity, and cultural projects. They also enhanced their partnership in Artificial Intelligence, key and emerging technologies, energy, and sports, in preparation for upcoming French summits on AI and the UN Oceans conference next year, as well as the forthcoming Paris Olympics.