Narendra Modi’s brief visit to Canada on the margins of the G7 Summit presented India with a chance to lay down new red lines and revive old relationships at a time when the world and New Delhi’s place in it face fresh challenges. The escalating military conflict between Israel and Iran served as the backdrop for the conclave. Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, left the summit early to return to Washington, firing threats at Iran along the way. By the end of the G7 meeting, it was evident that the group of seven wealthy nations does not reflect anything close to the global mood on matters of international concern. While calling for negotiations to bring an end to the fighting between Iran and Israel, the G7 failed to identify the clear aggressor — Israel. And even though Mr Modi held bilateral meetings with a range of leaders from the grouping and spoke to the group about climate change, clean energy, sustainability and concerns about Artificial Intelligence, three conversations stood out from his time in Canada.
The visit gave the Indian prime minister a chance to briefly huddle with the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, where they emphasised their shared commitment to the concerns of the Global South. The meeting also gave Mr Modi an opportunity to meet his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, in a bid to reset ties after two years of heightened tensions over Ottawa’s accusations that New Delhi had ordered the assassination of the Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India and Canada agreed to appoint high commissioners to each other’s capitals after having expelled diplomats previously over their spat. But most crucially, perhaps, was Mr Modi’s 35-minute phone conversation with Mr Trump after the US president had left Canada. According to the foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, Mr Modi unambiguously rebuffed Mr Trump over the latter’s repeated assertions that he had mediated peace between India and Pakistan following their brief but intense military confrontation in May. Mr Modi’s insistence on clearing the air on that episode and on emphasising that the truce between the South Asian neighbours had been concluded bilaterally is important. That Mr Misri made the details of that conversation public was equally significant. It meant that India, in effect, used the G7 platform to tell the world that it is ready for the global high table on its terms.