Here’s all that you need to know about the summit, and what is on the agenda?
What’s New?
Once a year, leaders of the G7 (Group of Seven) nations, gather to discuss global issues and economic policies. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States are the nations that are part of G7. This year, the leaders will be meeting on the idyllic village of Carbis Bay in Cornwall from June 11 to 13. This is the first in-person G-7 summit in almost two years.
President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as well as representatives from non-member countries are invited as guests. The list also includes Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be attending the summit virtually.
What Does The G7 Do?
G7 summit covers numerous international issues, including security, gender equality, climate change, trade, and poverty. The country, which holds the G7 presidency, can also put topics they would like to see discussed on the agenda. The more recent meetings have covered topics such as North Korean nuclear armament, environmental issues, Brexit implication and the rise and fall of so-called Islamic state.
Agenda For This Year
According to the UK government, as mentioned by CNBC, the leaders will discuss shared challenges, from the pandemic and vaccines to climate change and “ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery.” The talking point of the summit are as below:
- Leading the global recovery from coronavirus while boosting the resilience against future pandemics
- Promoting the future prosperity by championing free and fair trade
- Tacking climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity
- Championing the shared values
Russia and China are widely anticipated to be talking points at the summit amid ongoing discontent over Russia’s destabilizing actions (and the prospect of more sanctions on the country) and China’s trade policies.
Zooming Out
Some critics find G-7 summits to be just a talking shop and say that no real change comes out of them. The absence of powers such as China and Russia (which was suspended from the group, and then itself left, after its 2014 annexation of Crimea) has also led to criticism that the group excludes countries it should involve in decision-making on world affairs. But we also cannot ignore the influence the G-7 countries have on the world.
Because, the countries that take part in the G7 summit have the largest IMF-described advanced economies in the world and represent 58% of the global net wealth. So, the decisions taken at these meetings impact people across the world. This is also important because the leaders will be discussing how the world can rebuild and recover from the pandemic. So, these meetings will impact everyone and right now, the entire world is looking at what kind of action plans that will be drafted by the leaders to help the global economy.
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