Referring to the Ukraine conflict at the G7 Summit, PM Modi said its impact was not confined to Europe

The impact of the current geopolitical tension is not just limited to Europe but the rising prices of energy and food grains are affecting all the countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

"The energy and security of developing countries is particularly at risk," he said while addressing a session on ‘Stronger Together: Addressing Food Security and Advancing Gender Equality’ at the G7 Summit in Germany.

In this challenging time, PM Modi pointed out, India had supplied food grains to many countries in need.

"We have dispatched about 35,000 tonnes of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in the last few months. And even after the heavy earthquake there, India was the first country to deliver relief materials. We are also helping our neighbour Sri Lanka to ensure food security," the Indian Prime Minister highlighted.

Making some suggestions on the subject of global food security, he said, "First, we must focus on the availability of fertilizers, and keep the value chains of fertilizers smooth at a global scale. We are trying to increase the production of fertilizers in India and seek cooperation from G7-countries in this regard".

Second, Prime Minister Modi added, India had immense agricultural manpower compared to the countries of the G7. Indian agricultural skills had helped give new life to traditional agricultural products like cheese and olive in some of the countries of the G7, he pointed out.

"Can the G7 create a structured system for the widespread use of Indian agricultural talent in its member countries? With the help of traditional talent of India's farmers, food security will be ensured to G7 countries," PM Modi said.

On gender equality, Prime Minister Modi pointed out that India's approach was moving from 'women's development' to 'women-led development'. "More than 6 million Indian women frontline workers kept our citizens safe during the pandemic. Our women scientists made a big contribution in developing vaccines and test kits in India," he stated.

He also spoke about 'ASHA workers', explaining how more than one million female volunteers in India were active in providing rural health. "Just last month, the World Health Organization honoured these Indian ASHA workers with its '2022 Global Leaders Award'," PM Modi noted.

Giving an example of the scale of gender equality in the country, he said, "If all the elected leaders in India from local government to national government are counted, more than half of them are women, and the total number will be in millions".

According to Prime Minister Modi, this shows that Indian women are fully involved in real decision-making today.

"Next year, India is going to chair the G20. We will maintain close dialogue with G7-countries on other issues, including post-COVID recovery, under the G20 platform," he stated.