Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India was a natural ally of G7 countries in defending “shared values” from authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation and economic coercion, PTI reported.

Modi was speaking virtually at a session titled “Building Back Together – Open Societies and Economies”, at the G7 summit. The Group of 7 summit, which brings together the heads of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, was held at Carbis Bay in Cornwall. India was one of the guest countries.

Invited as a lead speaker to the session on open societies and economies, Modi stressed on the need to ensure that cyberspace remains an avenue for advancing democratic values and not for subverting it, the prime minister’s office said.

The prime minister called upon technology companies and social media platforms to ensure a safe cyber environment for the users, Additional Secretary (economic relations) of the Foreign Ministry, P Harish, said in a press briefing on the G7 summit. The comments assume significance on the domestic front also, as the Centre and social media companies tussle over the implementation of new information technology rules.

At the session on climate change, Modi sought collective action and said this challenge couldn’t be addressed in silos, claiming that India was the only G20 nation on track to meet its Paris Accord commitments.

“The prime minister’s views were appreciated by other leaders in the gathering,” Harish said.

On Saturday, while speaking in another session, Modi urged the G7 countries to support a proposal by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive the patent on coronavirus vaccines.

Modi was invited to the summit by United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson but called off his visit because of the second wave of coronavirus infections in India.