Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the in-person summit of the Group of Seven industrialized countries taking place in the United Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday. Modi will virtually address three Outreach Sessions of the summit on June 12 and 13 at the invitation of his UK counterpart Boris Johnson.

As the current president of the G7, Britain has invited India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa as Guest Countries to the summit of leaders of the seven nations --Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the United States, who began gathering on Friday at the seaside resort of Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in the UK.

Modi is attending the sessions remotely, having decided not to travel to Britain for the summit due to the pandemic, which has hit India hard.

The theme for the Summit is Build Back Better and the UK has outlined four priority areas for its Presidency. These are leading the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics; promoting future prosperity by championing free and fair trade; tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity; and championing shared values and open societies.

The leaders are expected to exchange views on the way forward on global recovery from the pandemic with a focus on health and climate change.

This is the second time Prime Minister Modi will be participating in a G7 meeting.

India had been invited by the G7 French Presidency in 2019 to the Biarritz Summit as a "Goodwill Partner” and Prime Minister participated in the Sessions on ‘Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans’ and Digital Transformation.(SAM)