COVID-19 surge: PM Modi cancels UK visit to attend G7 Summit in June

New Delhi, May 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be attending the G7 Summit amid the coronavirus pandemic in India.

"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," MEA Spokesperson said.

The G7 summit is scheduled to take place in Cornwall in the UK next month. The G7 comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

As the chair of G7, the UK has invited India, Australia, South Korea, South Africa to the summit. This is the second cancellation of Modi's visit abroad in recent weeks.

On April 20, the MEA announced cancellation of a planned visit by Modi to Portugal to attend the India-European Union summit on May 8.

The summit was held in a virtual format. British Prime Minister Johnson too had called off his scheduled visit to India last month in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Subsequently, Modi and Johnson held a virtual summit on May 4. The Prime Minister had paid a two-day visit to Bangladesh in March to attend events marking 50 years of that country's war of liberation. Earlier this month, the External Affairs Minister travelled to London to participate in the G7 foreign ministers' meeting.

However, he could not attend the meeting in person after some members of his delegation tested positive for COVID-19. The external affairs minister attended the meeting in virtual format.