Bridges over Evian waters: G7 meet saw more convergence than controversy

As the leaders of the world’s richest economies gathered at the French spa town of Evian-les-Bains, diplomats heaved a sigh of relief that the three-day event passed off without major controversy and some gains. Unlike the previous meet in Canada, held against the backdrop of United States-led trade war frictions and rifts over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Evian edition saw a remarkable degree of convergence and bonhomie as evident from several hot mic moments. Diplomatic apprehension ahead of the meeting lightened considerably by American President Donald Trump’s announcement of an agreement with Iran days before the Evian gathering — an agreement that would unclog the Strait of Hormuz and bring peace to West Asia. The other big gainer at Evian was Ukraine. Although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not secure a hoped-for bilateral with Mr Trump, the G7 set aside their differences to get the United States (US) to sign a unified joint statement pledging support for Kyiv in its war against Russia. Given Mr Trump’s past equivocations and outspoken partiality for Russian President Vladimir Putin, this agreement represents a major achievement. Misgivings on this hard-won progress would have arisen towards the end of the meet when Mr Trump spoke of restarting the bombardment of Iran if he was dissatisfied with the peace deal, underlining the basic unpredictability of the occupant of the White House. 

These geopolitical gains must be weighed against a major limitation: The continuing absence of China, the world’s second-largest economy, with its state-led, subsidy-intensive model that continues to distort global growth. Being a meeting of the richest democracies — Russia was a member until Mr Putin’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 — no Chinese leader has ever attended a meet either as a member or a standard guest. A working session on “promoting balanced, shared and sustainable economic growth” and a pro forma declaration in the joint statement about the adverse economic impacts of global imbalances on poorer countries offered a feeble acknowledgement of China’s dominance and the G7’s inability to find a solution. It was developing-country invitees who sought to counter the China narrative most eloquently. These included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva and Kenyan President William Ruto. Together with leaders of South Korea and Egypt, they were invited to discuss shifting from traditional aid to investment. By all accounts, Mr Modi led the discussions at the working session, endorsing the G7’s call for partnerships rather than aid but also underlining support for developing countries to absorb the shock of conflicts. 

On balance, Mr Modi’s four bilaterals at Evian — with leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Ukraine — and outreach with the Chancellor of Germany, and the United Arab Emirates leadership did much to further India’s interests. One achievement was finalising the implementation date (July 15) of the free-trade agreement signed a year ago with the UK, including a critical exemption from import safeguards for 85 per cent of Indian steel exports. Mr Modi’s prominent bilateral with Mr Trump took place against a period of tension owing to the US’s growing closeness to Pakistan, punitive tariffs, long-drawn discussions over a trade deal, and India’s protests over the death of Indian sailors by the US Navy. Given the context, the meeting signalled a thaw that is much-needed for India at a time when the global economy is in turmoil.