From India to Indonesia, G-7 invitees aim to be heard in Hiroshima
Modi's G-20 perch presents chance to highlight debt, development in 'Global South'
NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to fly to Japan later this week for the Group of Seven summit, where he and some other invitees are likely to urge the world's richest nations to help address the problems of developing ones -- from food and energy supply constraints to debt and the consequences of climate change.
Modi, whose country currently holds the Group of 20 presidency, is set to attend the G-7 in Hiroshima at the personal invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. But the Indian leader has become a recurring guest -- invited five straight times, including the 2020 summit that was canceled due to COVID-19 and an online address in 2021. This underscores the importance advanced economies now place on the world's largest democracy, which likely already surpassed China as the most populous country as well.
For Modi, this year's appearance may carry extra weight as he increasingly positions India as the voice of the so-called Global South, as some less-developed countries feel their interests are ignored. He will be looking to amplify that voice even as the war in Ukraine is likely to dominate discussions among the G-7, which comprises Japan, Italy, Canada, France, the U.S., U.K., Germany and the European Union.
"This year is special because India is steering the G-20, and there has been a talk about how the G-7 and G-20 can coordinate and perhaps discuss issues which are not being [taken up] at the moment in multilateral platforms," said Harsh V. Pant, professor of international relations at King's College London and vice president of studies and foreign policy at New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation think tank.
Indian government sources also described Modi's anticipated presence in Hiroshima as an opportunity to bridge the G-7 and G-20. "There is a pressing need [for advanced economies] getting together to hear the voice of the developing world [on issues such as] debt, climate change and post-COVID recovery," one official said, preferring not to be named.
Kishida, this year's host, has repeatedly made clear that he intends to take up matters of concern to the Global South. His guest list reflects that: Apart from India, he has also invited Brazil, Comoros (the current African Union chair), Indonesia (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair) and Vietnam, along with Australia, Pacific Islands Forum chair Cook Islands and South Korea.
But India and others will be looking for more than lip service from the big economies, experts say.
"The G-7, by definition, tends to be a developed world platform, and at the moment the developed world is not giving an impression that it remains concerned about what is happening in the large part of [the developing world]," Pant said. "The G-7 is primarily looking at the Ukraine crisis currently and projecting a sense of unity vis-a-vis Russia. So, India would certainly hope that economic and developmental priorities of the rest of the world will also be considered," he added, noting that many countries are facing a food, fuel and fertilizer crisis as a knock-on effect of the Ukraine conflict.
Likewise, Pankaj Jha, a professor of strategic studies at O.P. Jindal Global University in India's northern Haryana state, argued that G-7 nations "at the top of the ladder" have a responsibility to help address such challenges, as well as matters like climate financing for countries bearing the brunt of global warming.
Jha stressed the debt burden of countries in the Global South -- including nations heavily indebted to China, such as Sri Lanka and Laos -- should be a focus.
Neither Indian expert was betting on major breakthroughs at the summit, though Pant did say the debt issue would be something to watch.
"If at all one is looking for a breakthrough, one should look at what the joint statement says about debt relief and debt settlement because that is the biggest crisis ... on the table," Pant said. "Whether the G-7 can articulate a policy framework for it, that would be interesting to see because that would also mean that they are listening to G-20."
At the same time, India may face some friction with the G-7 over its increased trade dealings with Russia, which Western critics see as undermining global sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine invasion.
Similar to India, Indonesia and Vietnam will be looking for signs that the G-7 is serious about developmental issues.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been invited to attend the G-7 just a week after hosting an ASEAN summit, where leaders discussed uneven economic growth, disputes with China in the South China Sea, and the ongoing crisis in military-ruled bloc member Myanmar.
Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said Widodo will be expecting G-7 members to realize commitments made during the G-20 summit in Bali last year supporting nations in the larger bloc -- particularly Indonesia in helping to fund its digital transformation and energy transition.
Asked whether the Indonesian president might seek G-7 cooperation in resolving the Myanmar impasse as the ASEAN chair, he seemed unconvinced. Indonesia, he noted has yet to come up with a "fixed concept" of how to push ASEAN discussions forward on this issue, which has caused serious divisions within the group.
"If there is an idea on how to solve the crisis, it must come from inside Myanmar," Kharisma said, adding that the level of G-7 interest in helping to resolve the Myanmar crisis is "uncertain."
On Vietnam's participation at the Hiroshima summit, Khang Vu, a doctoral candidate in East Asian security at Boston College, said that Hanoi hopes the G-7 can foster a stable external environment for its economic development and help raise its economic profile, "thanks to big corporations moving their factories out of China to friendlier shores."
"However," he cautioned, "Vietnam should not expect too much from the summit. It is unlikely that the summit can help end the ongoing geopolitical conflicts among the United States, Russia and China, for even within the G-7 there are disagreements over how to deal with China."
Additional reporting by Nana Shibata in Jakarta and Kim Dung Tong in Ho Chi Minh City.