As the G7 Clock Ticks, Silence over India’s Invite and What it Means

New Delhi: A year ago, in the thick of a high-stakes general election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had locked in his attendance at the G7 summit in Italy, confident enough of returning to power to reserve a seat at the outreach segment of the developed world’s high table.

The BJP fell short of a parliamentary majority, but within days of being sworn in, Prime Minister Modi flew to Italy, signalling where his diplomatic priorities lay. At the summit, he told world leaders that his victory was a “victory of the entire democratic world”.

A year on, with just 10 days to go for this year’s G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies, there has been no public indication that India has been invited.

Each year, the G7 host country invites a handful of external leaders. These choices reflect both the host’s strategic objectives and the group’s broader aim of engaging rising powers in an increasingly multipolar world.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended five summits, when the group was still known as G8, as a special invitee. Modi made his debut in 2019 during the French presidency and went on to participate in four consecutive editions. The 2020 summit was held virtually due to the pandemic.

Canada has remained tight-lipped about the guest list, with repeated queries to the G7 Canada secretariat only generating a standard reply that an announcement about special invitees would be made in due course.

However, media reports made it clear that invitations had begun going out early.

The new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, was quick to reach out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shortly after assuming office in March, even before the snap polls, to extend an invitation.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly confirmed receiving his invitation in the first week of May. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was invited during a phone call with Carney on May 15. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also received an invitation around the same time, as per Brazilian media reports. 

South Africa’s High Commission in Ottawa told a Canadian news agency that Pretoria had been invited, though it did not confirm whether the country would attend.

With others having received their invitations well in advance, a last-minute VVIP departure from the Indian capital to Canada appears slim.

What’s with the silence?

Among diplomatic circles in Canada, India’s absence from the confirmed guest list has triggered speculation, particularly given the guarded stance of Carney’s office in response to informal inquiries. Canada claims to have chosen Brazil and South Africa in their capacities as chairs of COP and G20, respectively. Mexico, grappling with similar tensions with Trump-era policies, fits within Canada’s strategic calculus. Australia remains a close Western ally.

While both Ottawa and New Delhi have remained quiet, possibly to avoid confirming the denial, the the lack of clarity has already triggered political backlash in India.

The Congress party has called the apparent snub a diplomatic failure. “Whatever spin may be given, the fact remains that this is yet another big diplomatic bungle – after the blunder of allowing the US to overturn decades of Indian foreign policy by mediating between India and Pakistan and allowing American authorities to call for continued talks at a ‘neutral site’,” said Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, on X.

For Modi, who is facing domestic criticism over the diplomatic handling of the recent hostilities with Pakistan, the optics of appearing alongside world leaders would have been politically useful. It would also have underlined India’s stature in contrast to Pakistan, which has never been invited to a G8 or G7 summit.

It could also have presented an opportunity for a high-profile encounter with US President Donald Trump in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. But, such an interaction could cut both ways politically for the Indian prime minister due to Trump’s fondness for repeating the claim of having played a key role in halting the fighting.

Even if an invitation were to arrive now, it is unclear whether New Delhi would be prepared to face certain protests by pro-Khalistani groups. While the summit venue at Kananaskis, Alberta, will be heavily secured, the Canadian hosts have devised a way to pierce the bubble – audio and video feeds from three designated protest zones will be livestreamed to screens at the summit venue.

“People who want to express themselves, as is their right, can’t get close to the leaders, so the leaders won’t see and hear the protests. So by establishing that video link, we are helping facilitate that Charter access,” said a senior Canadian official.

Khalistani protests outside Indian diplomatic missions have long been a source of friction between India and Canada. India wanted a complete prohibition, while Canada has maintained that peaceful protests is protected under Canadian law.

A last-minute invitation would also present serious logistical challenges. Accommodation around the venue is already scarce. A Canadian media report quoted the Japanese consul general as saying it had been a major challenge to secure rooms for the 300-member Japanese delegation.

This year’s G7 summit also comes twenty months after India’s ties with the host country, Canada, collapsed. In September 2023, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen whom New Delhi had designated a Khalistani terrorist. India rejected the allegation and downgraded diplomatic relations. Since then, neither country has had an ambassador, and both embassies have been operating with reduced staff.

When Canada was initially announced as host of the 2025 summit, it was assumed that Trudeau would chair the event, with Parliament’s term running until 2026. At the time, there was little expectation that bilateral ties would improve enough for India to be invited.

The hope was also that Trump’s import tariffs would also spur both Canada and India to look beyond the Nijjar killings to urgently prioritise a diversified economic partnership.

But, Canada has already signalled that full reconciliation would take some time. “We are certainly taking it one step at a time. As I mentioned, the rule of law will never be compromised, and there is an ongoing investigation regarding the case that you mentioned,” said Canada’s new Indian-origin foreign minister Anita Anand last month.

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