India’s Modi gets Trump invite to attend G7

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received an invitation from US President Donald Trump to attend the next Group of Seven summit, India’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a telephone call, Modi told Trump New Delhi would be happy to work with the US and other countries to ensure the success of the next G7 summit, the ministry said in a statement.

Trump said Saturday he was postponing until September the summit that had been scheduled for late June at Camp David, the US 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.

The leaders exchanged views on the COVID-19 situation in the two countries, the India-China standoff at the border, and the need for reforms in the World Health Organization, it added.

A White House statement said Trump and Modi discussed the G7 meeting, the response to the coronavirus pandemic and regional security issues.

Trump told Modi the US would ship the first tranche of 100 donated ventilators to India next week, the White House said.

During the call, Trump recalled his visit to India in February. Modi said the historic visit had added new dynamism to the bilateral relationship.

Leaders from the Group of Seven had been scheduled to meet by videoconference in late June after COVID-19 scuttled plans to gather in-person at Camp David, the US presidential retreat outside Washington.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the first leader to decline the in-person invitation outright due to the consideration of the overall pandemic situation.