PM Modi to travel to Italy this week for G7 summit in first trip abroad in third term

New Delhi, June 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to Italy this week to attend the annual summit of G7 advanced economies in his first trip abroad after assuming office for the third straight term.

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.

People familiar with Modi’s planned trip to Italy said he is set to leave for Italy on June 13 and will return late on June 14, adding it will be his first trip abroad after taking charge as the prime minister for the third consecutive term.

There is no official announcement on Modi’s visit to Italy yet.

Modi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that is likely to include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and NSA Ajit Doval, sources said.

The prime minister is set to hold a number of bilateral meetings including with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Modi had attended the previous G7 summit in Hiroshima in May last year.

On the sidelines of the summit, he had held talks with Zelenskyy and a number of other leaders.

The G7 comprises the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.

Italy is holding the current presidency of the G7 (Group of Seven) and is hosting the summit in that capacity.

A key focus of the Italian presidency has been to defend the rules-based international system.