NICOSIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides “expressed concern” over the conflicts going on in West Asia and Europe, and they both consider that “this is not an era of war”.
Modi said this in his remarks at a joint press conference with Christodoulides after holding wide-ranging talks with him here.
“We both expressed concern over the conflicts going on in West Asia and Europe. Their negative impact is not just limited to those regions. We both consider that this is not an era of war. Resolution through dialogue and restoration of stability is the call of humanity,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, coming over a month after India’s Operation Sindoor that targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attacks.
During PM Modi’s last visit in 2015, bilateral ties were elevated to the level of a strategic partnership.
Bilateral trade in goods in 2024 stood at USD 8.6 billion. India exported USD 4.2 billion and imported USD 4.4 billion worth of goods. Bilateral trade in services in 2024 stood at USD 14.3 billion, with India exporting USD 2.5 billion and importing USD 11.8 billion worth of services.
The G7 summit comes amidst rising geopolitical tensions, including escalating tensions in the Middle East in the wake of the strikes between Iran and Israel, as well as a trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Trump arrived in Kananaskis Sunday for the G7 Summit and will have a bilateral meeting with Carney Monday. The US leader is also expected to have bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on the sidelines of the Summit.
Canada assumed the annual rotating presidency of the G7 on January 1, 2025, with this marking the 50th anniversary of the G7 Summit.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal grouping of 7 of the world’s advanced economies – France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada and the European Union. Its members meet annually at the G7 Summit to discuss global economic and geopolitical issues.
India has attended eleven G7 Summit Outreach sessions till date: 2003 (France); 2005 (UK); 2006 (Russia); 2007 (Germany); 2008 (Japan); 2009 (Italy); 2019 (France); 2021 (UK); Germany (2022), Japan(2023), and Italy (2024).
According to a statement, the Outreach Segment of the 51st G7 Summit will have one session.
The focus areas of the G7 Summit will include ‘Protecting our communities and the world’ — strengthening peace and security, countering foreign interference and transnational crime, and improving joint responses to wildfires; ‘Building energy security and accelerating the digital transition’ — fortifying critical mineral supply chains and using artificial intelligence and quantum to unleash economic growth; and ‘Securing the partnerships of the future’ — catalysing enormous private investment to build stronger infrastructure, create higher-paying jobs, and open dynamic markets where businesses can compete and succeed.
India, the fifth-largest economy in the world, has regularly been invited to the Outreach session of the G7 Summit in the past few years.
