By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi got an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to attend the next Group of Seven summit, India’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.
Over a telephone call, Modi told Trump that New Delhi would be happy to work with the United States and other countries to ensure the success of the next G7 summit, it said in a statement.
Trump said on Saturday he was postponing until September the summit that had been scheduled for late June in Camp David, the U.S. president’s country retreat, and that he wanted to invite Australia, Russia, South Korea and India to the meeting.
Trump conveyed his desire to expand participation beyond the members of the group of the world’s most advanced economies.
“In this context, he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the next G7 Summit to be held in USA,” the ministry said.
The leaders exchanged views on COVID-19 situation in the two countries, the India-China standoff at the border, and the need for reforms in the World Health Organisation, it added.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior congressional leader have reprimanded China for bullying behaviour towards India during a military standoff on their disputed border.
During the call, Trump recalled his visit to India in February. Modi said the historic visit had added new dynamism to the bilateral relationship.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Richard Chang)
