Commentary
From frozen Russian assets to rising tensions between the West and China, major developed countries have tough issues to contend with.
Bari, Italy – Leaders of advanced nations are preparing for the annual meeting of the Group of Seven countries in Italy in a year marked by wars in Europe and the Middle East and intensifying competition between the West and China.
Leaders from the country, often labelled as an exclusive, pro-Western club of “like-minded” leaders, are due to meet in the picturesque Adriatic region of Puglia to discuss tough global challenges.
This will be the 50th G7 Summit and will take place over three days from June 13th to 15th in the luxury resort town of Borgo Egnasia.
Who’s coming?
The leaders of the G7 countries – the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom – will attend, as well as the leaders of the European Council and the European Commission.
G7 hosts also have the discretion to extend sessions by inviting guests from other countries, a practice the group has increasingly placed emphasis on as it seeks to present itself as a voice for other countries, not just wealthy Western nations. While guest numbers are typically small, Italy has hosted a record number of leaders, from Pope Francis and King Abdullah II of Jordan to the leaders of Ukraine, India, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania.
Also in attendance will be the UN Secretary-General, as well as the heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
What’s on the agenda?
- Discussions will begin on 13 June at 11am (9am GMT) with a session on Africa, climate change and development.
- This will be followed by a session on the Middle East, with Israel’s Gaza war expected to dominate the discussion.
- This will be followed by a break for lunch, during which the visiting leaders may wish to try Puglia’s famous Le Orecchiette pasta while in the region. Shortly after lunch, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive and take part in two sessions on Ukraine.
- Main topics on the agenda on June 14 include migration, Asia-Pacific and economic security. Sessions on artificial intelligence, energy and the Mediterranean are also on the agenda. At 6:45 pm (16:45 GMT), the G7 leaders’ statement will be adopted and the closing session will take place.
- Host country Italy will hold a press conference on June 15th.
What should we pay attention to?
- An Italian source told Al Jazeera that the G7 and EU countries want to announce a deal on a $50 billion loan for Ukraine secured by profits from Russian assets frozen in the West in the aftermath of Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022. Such an agreement would send a strong message of solidarity to Kiev, the source said.
- A strong condemnation of Israel’s brutal bombing of Gaza is not expected. The G7 is expected to support US President Joe Biden’s three-phase ceasefire proposal, approved by the UN Security Council on Sunday, and his demand for the return of all prisoners currently being held in Gaza.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country is stronger than ever after a big win in the weekend European elections, is expected to expand his foreign policy centrepiece, the so-called Mattei Plan, by securing the backing of the entire G7. The plan aims to position Italy as a major energy hub connecting Europe and the African continent. Its big promise is to boost African growth and thus curb migration to Europe.“Africa is Italy’s priority and while there won’t be many new initiatives due to lack of resources, it’s about showing that the G7 is reaching out to the continent,” said Ettore Greco, deputy director of the Rome-based think tank Institute of International Affairs (IAI).
- China is also due to be discussed, and a government source told Al Jazeera the US is pushing Western countries to include concerns about Chinese industrial overcapacity – when companies produce more than is needed, pushing down prices – in any final statement.
Is the G7 more than just a forum?
But despite all the important topics on the agenda, the G7 summit is not a forum for signing agreements or adopting treaties. Rather, it is an informal platform where a handful of major developed economies discuss issues traditionally related to global governance and finance, and then draft a final joint statement. The document lays out the direction the group’s members plan to follow in formulating future policies, and provides the rest of the world with an opportunity to learn about their priorities.
As the world’s economic center of gravity shifted from the West to Asia and emerging countries, the G7’s importance dwindled. In the 1970s, the economies of the G7 member states accounted for about 70% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). But after the 2008 global financial crisis and the emergence of alternative groupings, from the G20 to the recently expanded BRICS, the G7’s importance changed from being the most powerful economic club to being a group of like-minded developed countries.
It was the first G7 summit since the expansion of the BRICS group of major powers to include China and Russia and marked a growing sense of disillusionment with Western policies in countries in the so-called global South last year.
“The diplomatic win for the Italian government is that the G7 sends a clear signal that the club remains united and will not fall apart in the face of geopolitical threats from Russia and China,” said Tristan Naylor, an international relations research fellow at the London School of Economics.
“And this is to show that we’re not just paying lip service to the idea of broad engagement,” he added.
