The upcoming G-7 Summit which is to be held in Hiroshima, Japan is another invitation for India to attend the G-7 meeting as a guest country, as this is not the first time that India has been invited as a guest country. If we see the timeline, India was invited by Germany in 2022 for the G-7 meeting, in 2021 she was invited to the UK for the summit and was also invited in 2020 by the US which was cancelled due to COVID and in 2019 India was reckoned by France. Doesn’t it seem that India is a permanent country in the G-7 group? Will India be joining the G-7 group in the near future? Let us dive into the reasons.
Reason Number: 1
India has a huge population with the potential for a lot of workforces. India’s rising influence and responsibility to the world is something that cannot be ignored by the G-7 members. Last month India became the top supplier of refined oil to the European Union, this shows the growing power and influence of Indian Products in the world market. Even though India is not a permanent member of the UNSC, it does not count as any disadvantage as the UNSC itself does not have the kind of influence it used to have. When North Korea was violating the rules and had constant missile testing, the UNSC could not impose stronger sanctions due to the fact that China and Russia vetoed it. One more fact is, India stands third when it comes to defence expenditure, it has the 5th largest GDP in the world. Therefore it is evident to every country that India is a growing superpower and being the largest democracy, her stance on important decisions matters.
Reason Number: 2
The New World looks for a newer, more reliable and great power like India. Despite India’s and China’s rising, various countries see China as a hostile country and its attitude towards other countries is unacceptable. For example, in the South China Sea, China is competing for its territorial claim with various other countries. In 2016, the Philippines took China to the International Court where it was ruled that China has to stop its activities in the South China Sea, but China neglected the order and continued. While China kept on deploying missiles and bombers on the island, it kept on refusing the same. So this hostile attitude of China is challenging the current international law and thus China cannot be called a responsible superpower.
Reason Number: 3
Third, India’s admission to the G7 demonstrates the centrality of the Global South to the G7. The G7 focuses on the Global South because the United States and China are battling for influence in the countries of the Global South. However, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, this crisis accelerated. Despite the G7 countries’ request that the world community support the sanctions against Russia, a number of countries in the Global South did not concur. However, there is a long-standing schism between the G7 and the Global South.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed the mood in the Global South in June 2022 when he said, “Europe has to get out of the mindset that Europe’s problem is the world’s problem, but the world’s problem is not Europe’s problem.”
India is the G20 chair this year. The G20 operates under the same framework as the G7, but with thirteen more rising powers. A G7 agreement with several countries from the Global South might pave the way for a G20 deal. And because the G20’s overall GDP accounts for 85% of global GDP. The G20 decision could symbolise global decisions including both developed and developing countries. The inclusion of India in the G7 reflects the opinion of the Global South and is a crucial step towards making global decisions. As previously said, India may become a member of the G7 in the future. India’s influence is expanding to the point that it will be the most powerful multinational structure in international politics, comparable to the G7.
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