G7 Hiroshima Summit: Who’s attending, what will be discussed? | News

The leaders of the G7 meet in the southern Japanese city of Hiroshima for the annual summit from May 19 to 21.

The two sides are expected to discuss not only economic but also political issues and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. China, the country, is becoming more and more assertive in its statements. Sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea and for self-ruled Taiwan, could also be an issue along with North Korea’s weapons testing.

Here’s a look at the G7 and what to expect:

What is the G7 Summit?

The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal grouping of leading industrialized democracies with no permanent secretariat or legal status. It includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The group was established – as the G6 – after the 1973 oil crisis as a forum for the richest nations to discuss global economic issues. Its countries have a combined annual gross domestic product (GDP) of $40 trillion – accounting for almost half of the world economy.

The founding members held their first summit in 1975 in France to discuss how to address the deep economic downturn following the embargo imposed by the oil-producing alliance OPEC. Canada became a seventh member a year later.

Russia joined to form the G8 in 1998, but was expelled after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

The presidents of the summits revolve around seven members, and this year it is Japan’s turn to host. In 2024, that will be Italy.

Two representatives of the European Union (EU) also participated, and in recent years leaders from a number of non-G7 countries and international organizations have become customary in several sessions.

The leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including economic policy, security, climate change, energy and gender.

Who is attending?

This year, the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Comoros (chairman of the African Union), Cook Islands (chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum), India (president of the G20), Indonesia (chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Southeast Asian countries), Korea and Vietnam were invited, demonstrating Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s emphasis on the importance of reaching out to developing countries, as well as allies and partners. of the United States.

The invitation to leaders outside the G7 aims to expand cooperation to more countries.

But the economic expansion of countries including Brazil, China and India (all members of the BRICS group including Russia and South Africa) has raised questions about the G7’s relevance and its role. its role in leading a world economy that is increasingly dependent on growth. beyond the wealthiest countries.

Leaders of the United Nations, the International Energy Agency, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization are also named. in the guest list.

What will be discussed?

The summit took place just days after the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy completed a tour around Europe to meet some of the G7 leaders.

Zelenskyy’s trip is aimed at building political support ahead of a widely anticipated election. counterattack to regain lands occupied by Moscow’s forces and secure new arms commitments.

G7 leaders are expected to strongly condemn Russia’s war with Ukraine while pledging continued support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy will participate in the session via the internet.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told a news conference: “Support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will be the main topic of discussion. “We will continue to work closely with the G7 and the international community to enhance the effect of sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of forcing Russia to withdraw.”

It will also focus on Beijing’s escalating threats to Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island that Beijing claims as its own, and ways to reduce its dependence on the economy and supply chains. Western democracies into China.

The seven leaders also signaled that China’s use of punitive trade measures will be high on the agenda of their three-day annual summit.

China’s use of coercive economic moves has been an issue of increasing concern in Asia Pacific and Europe in recent years, with Japan, South Korea, Australia And Lithuania all face trade restrictions following disputes with Beijing over issues ranging from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to Taiwan.

For developing countries, including many former colonies of Western powers with different views and relationships with Russia and China, the G7 will provide more support in terms of health and food security. and infrastructure to help forge closer relationships.

Developed countries promised in 2009 to transfer $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2025 to countries vulnerable to increasingly severe climate-related impacts and disasters – but that goal was never achieved.

According to the British NGO Oxfam, the rich nations of the G7 owe poor countries about $13 trillion in unpaid development aid and assistance in the fight against climate change.

Initially off the agenda, the rapid growth of ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot means G7 leaders can no longer ignore the problems it poses.

In April, Kishida met with the CEO of OpenAI, the company that developed the ChatGPT service, and EU lawmakers urged G7 leaders to find ways to control the service’s development.

The G7 digital ministers agreed in April that they should adopt “risk-based” regulation of AI.

Choose a location

Hiroshima is the hometown of Kishida and is known worldwide as the first city to be attacked with a nuclear weapon. The 1945 bombing helped end World War II, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki are devastated kill thousands of civilians.

Kishida’s choice of location reflects determination put nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation at the top of the summit agenda.

The path to nuclear disarmament appears to be more difficult given Russia’s recent nuclear weapons threats in Ukraine, as well as North Korea’s continued ballistic missile tests and the expansion of its nuclear program. Iran.

“I cannot say that the G7 will solve these non-proliferation crises, but without a consistent stance from the G7 we have no chance,” said a senior G7 diplomat. told Reuters news agency.

Kishida on Friday will welcome the leaders to Hiroshima Peace Park, the city’s commercial and political center at the time the bomb was dropped. He also plans to escort the leaders to the A-bomb museum, the first group visit that will include the heads of several nuclear-weapon states around the world. There may also be a meeting with atomic bomb survivors.

“I believe that the first step towards any nuclear disarmament effort is to provide firsthand experience of the aftermath of the atomic bombing and convey the reality with certainty,” Kishida said. last Saturday during a visit to Hiroshima to observe the preparations for the summit.

beside

Kishida, US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are expected to keep a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the summit in Hiroshima to discuss North Korea, China’s assertiveness, and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Kishida and Yoon will jointly pay their respects at the memorial to the Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima in a confidence-building gesture as the two countries mend strained relations due to disputes stemming from the regime. Japanese colonialism 1910-1945 on the Korean Peninsula.

Yoon was invited to the summit as one of eight outreach countries.

Protests have also taken place during the preparations for the summit,