Read The Diplomat, Know The Asia-Pacific
India’s recurring invitations reveal as much about New Delhi’s ambitions as about the G7’s adaptation to the changing times.
A group photo from the 2025 G7 summit in Canada, including full members and guests, like India’s Narendra Modi.
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the G7 Summit in Évian, France, next week, he will be there, once again, as a guest and not a member. India, having been a “special invitee” for over a dozen summits since the 2003 G8 summit in the same French city, is striking. India is not a U.S. treaty ally, remains active in BRICS, engages closely with Russia and China, has declined to join Western sanctions on Russia, and champions all of this in the name of “strategic autonomy.”
In the midst of a strained India-U.S. relationship, the anomaly of India-G7 ties will also define next week’s long-awaited Modi-Trump meeting.
