PM Modi cancels UK visit for G7 Summit over Covid surge

In the wake of surging cases of Coronavirus cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cancelled his visit to the United Kingdom, where he was to participate in the G7 Summit in person. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had extended a special invite to his Indian counterpart.

"While appreciating the invitation to the Prime Minister by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to attend the G7 Summit as a Special Invitee, given the prevailing Covid situation, it has been decided that the Prime Minister will not attend the G7 Summit in person," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a response to media queries on PM Modi's upcoming visit to attend the G-7 Summit in Cornwall.

A few days back, the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held first in-person in the UK. The meeting had taken place after a gap of over two years. The G-7 member nations, include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also invited but could not attend in person as he was exposed to the virus during his visit to the UK. He attended the event in virtual format. 

Apart from India, being the host nation, the UK had also invited the foreign ministers of Australia, South Korea, South Africa and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

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• Boris Johnson
• Narendra Modi
• G7 summit