n this screengrab from a video posted on June 17, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a working session at the G7 Summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France. Photo: @NarendraModi/YT via PTI Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a global skills mobility mechanism and a economic corridor — like the India Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), for the Global South. His proposal was made at the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains in France at a outreach session with G7 partners, titled ‘Reviving a Balanced, Shared and Sustainable Economic Growth for All.’
The Prime Minister wrote, on social media site X: “Like the vision of IMEC, can we work on connectivity projects with countries in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands?”
G7 Summit updates on June 17, 2026
The IMEC project has faced delays due to multiple conflicts in West Asia — starting with the Gaza-Israel conflict and more recently, the war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel. The project was announced in September 2023 at the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
Mr. Modi, who is known to have a penchant from acronyms, suggested combining capital from the wealthy G7 countries, talent from India and ownership from countries of the Global South to establish the International Mobilisation Partnership for Accelerating Connectivity and Trade (IMPACT).
India and countries of the Global South has young talent while many societies were ageing, the Prime Minister said, as he called for a “Global Skills Partnership” which would harness this complementarily. The partnership, he said, would map skills and promote trusted skilled mobility.
Mr. Modi said that the impacts of the war in West Asia would be felt by poor countries for a while and that international financial institutions should develop support systems that help these countries absorb the shocks and maintain their economic resiliance.
“The disruptions in fuel, fertiliser and food supply chains caused by the crisis in West Asia will continue to impact the Global South for a considerable period. If we genuinely seek to strengthen international solidarity, the most vulnerable countries should not be left to bear the burden of these crises alone,” he said.
Published – June 17, 2026 04:56 pm IST
