Muristek
New Delhi, April 13
Germany has dismissed reports that it is debating whether to invite India to a G-7 summit as one of the observers because of its failure to unequivocally condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
"It is wrong,'' said German government circles about a report that stated that it was considering not inviting India to G-7 because of its position concerning Russia's war in Ukraine. Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Berlin would present its list of guest attendees as soon as it was finalised.
The summit is due to take place from June 26-28 at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps. Inviting other countries or organisations was not a practice in the first 21 years of G-7. In 1996, international bodies such as UN, World Bank, IMF and the WTO were invited for first time. South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and Algeria were invited to the Tokyo summit for the first time in 2000. India came to be invited regularly when an official G8+5 was formed in 2003 and the other invitees included China, Brazil and Mexico and South Africa along with Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Switzerland. —