PM Modi to leave for G7 summit on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Italy on Thursday to attend the annual summit of G7 advanced economies.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday that PM Modi's participation in the G7 summit would provide an opportunity to follow up on outcomes of the G20 summit held under India's presidency last year.

The G7 summit, to be held in the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia in Italy's Apulia region from June 13 to 15, is likely to be dominated by the raging war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the top leaders attending the summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also scheduled for a session on the Russian invasion of his country.

"We have always maintained that dialogue and diplomacy is the best option to resolve it," Kwatra said when asked about the Ukraine conflict.

The foreign secretary said India's regular participation in the G7 summit points to increasing recognition of New Delhi's efforts to address global challenges.

Responding to a question, he said India will participate in the peace summit in Switzerland at an appropriate level.

Kwatra did not specify who will represent India at the summit.