India and G7: Rising recognition and increasing importance

The G7 meeting that took place in Germany among the richest seven countries and special invitees from Asia, Africa, Latin America and European Union assumed great significance in view of the prevailing all pervasive global insecurities, including economy, politics, health and war and conflicts.

The Group of Seven that was formed in 1975 in the backdrop of the 1973 energy crisis has remained unaltered in terms of membership composition till date. It was in 1998 that Russia entered the grouping as an additional member but could stay only till 2014 when it was excluded from the membership due to its annexation of Crimea. Eight years later, the present G7 met in the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that occupied the top place in the agenda for discussion.

India’s representation in this meeting was crucial in view of the intense Cold War between the US-led Western countries and Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine in February last. During the old Cold War between the US and the USSR, India followed a non-aligned strategy and sought cooperative ties with both sides of the Cold War divide. It was, however, not an equidistant policy and India occasionally took sides on key issues on the basis of principles as well as when core security interests of the country were affected.

In a way, what later came to be highlighted as strategic autonomy, India chose to remain outside bloc politics. Significantly, the United States was India’s principal trade and investment partner during the Cold War, while the USSR turned out to be a key source of defence and security requirements of the country.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War altered the strategic landscape of world politics and traditional non-alignment strategy was no longer relevant. India began to nurture an amplified strategic partnership with the United States and simultaneously maintained its defence and security ties with Russia for about more than two decades. The US and its NATO allies did not perceive Russia as a strategic threat and several European partners of the United States cultivated cooperative ties, especially closer energy trade with Moscow.

However, Russia-US relations consistently deteriorated in the last several years under the administration of Vladimir Putin. The determination of Putin to restore some of Russia’s earlier position in global affairs and make the country a robust player in global decision making often translated into certain assertive policies and strategic moves that did not go down well with the United States and its alliance partners. Starting with Russian military flexing in Georgia, moving on to Moscow’s full backing of the Assad regime in Syria, then annexation of Crimea and more recently Russian invasion of Ukraine have signalled grave hostility between Russia and the US-led Western alliance.

The G7 meeting in Germany took place amidst a new Cold War-type clash between Russia and the US and its NATO allies. Moreover, an economic Cold War between the US and China was already unfolding when the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place and further complicated the global geopolitical landscape. China refrained from directly supporting Russia on the Ukraine issue, but it consistently opposed Western sanctions against Russia. Days before the G7 summit, President Xi Jinping severely criticised Western sanctions policy during the virtual BRICS summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to accept Germany’s invitation to attend the G7 meeting was vital in view of the prevalent geopolitical complexities and uncertainties where India needed to protect its national interests and preserve its valued partnership with the United States as well with Russia.

While the Ukraine War has been enduring with no clear end in sight, India has neither come under Western influence to condemn the Russian aggression nor supported the Russian military operations in Ukraine. India has not supported the Western sanctions against Russia despite repeated diplomatic pressure not to buy Russian energy sources. However, India preferred to buy Russian oil not to defy Western policies but to meet domestic energy requirements amidst high-energy prices and short supply of oil and gas in the international market.

India fully and actively participated in the Quad foreign ministers’ meet and summit meetings, but at the same time it also participated in the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) meeting and more recently BRICS meeting where Russia and China were active players.

In the current Cold War climate, Russia and China seek to demonise the United States and vice versa. India has stayed away from rhetoric, sought to maintain its strategic autonomy, conveyed its principled stand on state sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, proposed dialogue and discussion as against military operations and sanctions; and on top of it all provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

The Ukraine war has badly affected the energy market, created an international food crisis, disrupted the global supply chains, contributed to global economic downturn and inflationary pressures and India too has been hit by all these developments.

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As a responsible member of the international community, India has tried to cool the tempers in multilateral meetings of members of the opposing camps, has come forward to contribute towards combating the pandemic, addressing the food crisis and backing the efforts of the G7 and G20 to ensure global warming mitigation and confront several non-traditional security threats.

What the prime minister did during the G7 meeting was much more than just underlining India’s strategic autonomy. He deftly showcased India’s achievements in key social and economic sectors and pushed for smooth energy transition. His statements on women empowerment, his proposal to pass on Indian traditional agricultural skills to even G7 member countries, and his idea of seeking help from G7 members to boost fertilizer production in India were admirable.

He emphasised that India’s approach towards women empowerment has been elevated to “women-led development” from “women development” and underlined the fact that more than fifty percent of elected leaders in India are women. He informed the gathering of the leaders from the wealthiest seven countries, how India contributed towards dealing with the food crisis by assisting Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the immediate neighbourhood.

His speech underscored the rise of India as a global player that is in the forefront of efforts to deal with multiple global crises, such as gender inequality, food crisis, energy crunch, and related economic challenges caused by the persistent Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Modi’s diplomacy succeeded in making the BRICS summit statement include the principle of national sovereignty and territorial integrity! In Germany, while the G7 members demonstrated unity against Russian invasion of Ukraine, Modi re-emphasised the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis.

The writer is editor, ‘Indian Foreign Affairs Journal’, founder and Honorary Chairperson of Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies, and formerly professor of JNU. Views expressed are personal.

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