India a natural ally of G7, says prime minister Modi

INDIA is a natural ally for the G7 countries in defending the shared values from threats like authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation and economic coercion, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday (13).

In a virtual address at a session on 'open societies and open economies' at the G7 summit, Modi highlighted India's civilisational commitment to democracy, freedom of thought and liberty.

He spoke about the radical impact of digital technologies on social inclusion and empowerment in India through applications such as Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Jan Dhan-Aadhaar- Mobile (JAM).

He also called on tech companies and social media platforms to ensure a safe cyber environment for their users, additional secretary (economic relations) in the ministry of external affairs A P Harish said at a press conference Sunday (13)

"The prime minister's views were appreciated by other leaders in the gathering," he said.

India's participation at the G7 sessions reflected understanding within the bloc that resolution to "the biggest global crisis of our time" is not possible without India's involvement and support, Harish said.

India will remain engaged with the G7 and guest partners on all major issues, including health governance, access to vaccines and climate action, he added.

There was widespread support at the G7 deliberations for text-based negotiations on a proposal by India and South Africa for patent waiver on Covid vaccines, Harish said.

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

India along with Australia, South Korea, South Africa were invited to the summit as guest countries.

The leaders of the G7 member nations held a summit in Cornwall from June 11-13.