Even though India is not a member of the group, French President Emmanuel Macron invited India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 Summit on August 25-26 in Biarritz – France. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that the invitation from the French president was a “reflection of the personal chemistry” between the two leaders and also a “recognition of India as a major economic power.” Modi addressed the G7 leaders on environment, climate, oceans, and digital economy.
The Group of 7 is a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governments of 7 of the largest advanced economies: the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. (This group was previously known as the Group of 8 before Russia was expelled over the 2014 crisis in Crimea. This year, Rwanda was invited to G7 as the former African Union chair country. Four other African countries were also invited: Egypt, the current chair of the African Union, South Africa which is the next African Union chair, Senegal which is exercising the current chairmanship of NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and Burkina Faso which is chairing G5 Sahel, a transitional zone located in the northern part of Africa stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Other non-member countries were Australia, and Chile.
