The leaders of seven of the world’s richest countries will meet Sunday at this year’s G7 summit in Germany’s Bavarian Alps to discuss the world’s most pressing issues. On the schedule of the June 26-28 event are Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the exacerbated global economic crisis. through war, vaccine equity and the climate emergency.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who chairs this year’s G7, said in the past at the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin in March that the war in Ukraine “must not lead us, like the G7, to forget our duty in the face of demanding global situations. “such as the weather crisis or the pandemic.
The G7 is made up of seven of the world’s richest countries, who meet annually to discuss global security, economics and climate issues. This year, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President are expected to attend. Joe Biden.
UE. La President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel will also be present this year, as is the norm among the bloc’s leaders.
“This is a compilation of some of the toughest democracies economically and politically in the world. . . this is happening at a time when we have the greatest risk of authoritarian expansion since Nazi Germany invaded Europe,” said Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, executive vice president. president of Freedom House, an American non-profit organization that tracks democracies. “What we are going to look for is what part of their political and economic strength they will use to repel Russian aggression. “
The G7 president can invite nations and the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa are expected to attend.
Although Russia joined the organization in 1998 – and the call replaced that of the G8 – the country has been excluded since 2014 after annexing Crimea.
The G7, as it is now called, was formed in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, which led to a deep recession and emerging inflation. France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany formed the first group of Six in 1975 to talk about the economic considerations that emerged from it. Canada joined the organization in 1976.
Read more: What is the G7? Here’s the one from the conference.
Despite Scholz’s comments that the war in Ukraine should not lead G7 leaders to other global priorities, the factor is expected to dominate the three-day summit. “It is very vital to convey unity and a credible response, because this war will not be short-lived,” said Michael Hanna, director of the U. S. program at the International Crisis Group.
This year’s summit may be just to generate impactful global economic responses, he adds.
Most likely, a primary goal will be to deal with the economic shocks that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed, spaces in which experts will find it less difficult to locate a unified approach.
“(Russia) deserves most of the blame, but there is no doubt that Western reaction and sanctions play a role,” Hanna said, referring to the state of the world economy. “This adds to the kind of inflationary pressures. ” and the economic shocks we have noticed the pandemic. “
The effect of the war on food distribution has been disastrous. Ukraine is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cereals and vegetable oil; Russia’s invasion disrupted normal production and contributed to record world food prices. The G7 urged all nations to “keep their agricultural and food markets open” and it is possible that questions about food production, distribution and supply, and aid to the most affected countries will be talking points.
“Many of those demanding situations we face globally are demanding man-made situations,” says Bibbins Sedaca. authoritarian gain. She warns that she opposes focusing only on food or refugee crises without addressing the root cause. “When the root cause is authoritarianism, we want to solve that challenge of just focusing on results. “
The G7 also reiterated ahead of the summit the desire to move towards the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the world’s population against the coronavirus by mid-2022. But that would require “a very big acceleration” of the global vaccination campaign. , according to a report on the official G7 website.
The G7 countries agreed last month to provide another $19. 8 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine. They have imposed sanctions on Russia, targeting some of the country’s largest banks, giant Russian state-owned enterprises, elites and members of their family circle. He also pledged to work to eliminate or ban Russian oil.
More recently, the United States announced last week that it would send $1 billion more in military aid. It has already committed $4. 6 billion in security assistance since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. France promised last week that it would send six more trucks to Ukraine mounted artillery guns. The German defense minister said that 3 rocket launchers would be available for Ukraine in July or August. Canada announced on June 15 that it would provide at least $9 million in additional military assistance; since the war broke out, Canada has pledged $274 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
There are signs of Western willingness to continue to support Ukraine.
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and affirmed their pro-EU offer. On Thursday, the U. S. The US gave Ukraine the prestige of “candidate”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also arrived in Kyiv last week for his wonderful stopover in the besieged country.