G7 Summit 2026 Highlights: ‘India has a great friend in White House,’ says Trump to Modi

Leaders at the Group of Seven summit concluded three days of talks in the French Alps on Wednesday, wrapping up formal discussions with high-stakes sessions on the contentious future of artificial intelligence and US dominance in the industry. U.S. President Donald Trump and other national leaders closed the summit in Évian-les-Bains with AI discussions featuring heads of major companies including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The G7 leaders spent the bulk of Tuesday's meetings addressing the Russia-Ukraine war and a tentative deal to end the Iran conflict, though Trump did not reveal details of the agreement expected to be signed by the U.S. and Iran on Friday at Switzerland's Lake Lucerne. The summit included France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and the U.K., with guest nations Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

G7 leaders issued a joint statement pledging to increase military support for Ukraine, including air defense technology, interceptors and military production licenses, while planning harsher sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the tentative Iran deal as a potential "global game changer" that could have positive effects including enabling additional defensive support for Ukraine. Leaders also called for safe, toll-free shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, reaffirming that transit passage without restrictions is the bedrock of international trade, and offered support to a French-British naval mission to safeguard ships and remove mines. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned as "reckless" Russian warship warning shots near a British yacht in the English Channel, though he downplayed it as not "anything more sinister." In a personal moment, Carney gave Trump an 80th birthday gift—though not gold, despite Trump's known love for the metal—reflecting their positive relationship despite Trump's past comments about making Canada the 51st US state.

G7 leaders issued a unified declaration reaffirming unwavering support for Ukraine—including its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and freedom—and agreed to intensify sanctions on Russia. The statement underscores Kyiv’s growing leverage as it seeks peace negotiations with Moscow, especially after successful drone operations that weakened Russia’s military position. The joint statement’s unity was notable given past challenges in securing full alignment from the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration, particularly on ending the Ukraine war. This cohesion followed Trump’s “very good” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other G7 leaders on Tuesday, sparking optimism that a peace deal may be achievable. Zelenskyy indicated he could meet Trump again on Wednesday, signalling renewed diplomatic momentum.

The G7 also welcomed the preliminary US-Iran peace deal signed by Trump on the eve of the summit and pledged to contribute to its implementation. Leaders emphasized efforts to diversify energy supply routes to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and enhance energy stock reserves. On the final day of the June 15–17 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France’s G7 presidency centering on critical minerals and global economic imbalances will dominate discussions. France is pushing partners to adopt a statement on critical minerals that could include measures to help the West reduce reliance on China and shield investors from countermeasures and dumping. China’s 2025 export curbs on rare-earth permanent magnets previously disrupted global industries, exposing Western supply chain vulnerabilities in energy, defence, and technology sectors.

Discussions on critical minerals are negotiating texts deemed “significant on economic sovereignty,” with measures under consideration including price supports, market standards, subsidies, guaranteed purchases, and scaling up private investment in supply chains outside China. However, any G7 announcements are likely first steps. Western powers are racing to secure mine offtakes and build processing and recycling capacity, but China’s dominant position—decades in the making—will remain intact for years. The US proposed a critical minerals trading bloc in early 2026, but disagreements persist on its operation, especially amid the White House’s “America First” agenda. G7 leaders will also address global trade rebalancing and “predatory competition,” primarily by China, with France summarizing imbalances as: China produces too much, the US consumes too much, and Europe invests too little.

Alarm is growing in Europe over China’s record trade surplus and its ascent up the value chain, described as a “second China shock” following its 2000s dominance in low-value industries. French President Emmanuel Macron sought last-ditch engagement with China ahead of the summit, but Beijing rejects EU claims of unfair subsidies and vowed countermeasures to EU trade rules. EU leaders will separately debate tougher trade defence measures against China’s surging imports at Thursday’s Brussels summit, following the EU’s largest-ever trade deficit with China of over €360 billion last year. Additionally, G7 leaders will discuss AI liability, bot accountability, and truth verification in AI-generated content during Wednesday’s lunch, with OpenAI founder Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei expected to attend.

On the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Évian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to accelerate negotiations to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of 2026. The leaders reviewed bilateral progress and identified opportunities to deepen cooperation across trade, energy, innovation, education and people‑to‑people ties, signalling renewed momentum in ties between the two democracies. They also agreed to initiate talks on a General Security of Information Agreement to strengthen defence and security collaboration, reflecting both countries’ interest in closer strategic partnership alongside economic integration.