G7 Summit 2024: What are the key issues and who is attending?
Leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest nations are meeting in Italy at a time of disarray in European politics and an upcoming election in the UK.
The G7 summit will give the heads of state time out from their domestic problems - but it will not be a holiday as they are facing key decisions about the world.
In addition to the seven heads of state, leaders from Africa and the Indo-Pacific region will also be present to discuss economic cooperation.
Here is what is at stake and what could be discussed.
What is the G7 summit?
The Group of Seven (G7) is a meeting of the world’s most advanced economies.
The group consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States - but not Russia and China.
Russia became a member of the ‘G8’ in 1997 but was kicked out in 2014 when it invaded Ukraine to take over Crimea and has not rejoined since.
China has a large economy but it has a relatively low wealth per person, which has so far excluded it.
Both China and Russia are members of the expanded G20.
Where is the G7 summit held?
Each year, each member country of the G7 takes its turn to host the G7 summit and take on the year-long presidency.
The G7 summit will be held from Thursday, June 13 to Saturday, June 15 in the Italian city of Fasano - having been held last year in Japan, while Cornwall’s Carbis Bay hosted the 2021 edition.
The 2024 summit will be the 50th in the group’s history, having started out as the G6 at the first summit in Rambouillet, France in 1975, before becoming the G7 in 1976 when Canada joined the group.
The 2024 event is the first international forum that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has put on since taking office in 2022.
Does the G7 have any power?
The G7 can’t pass any laws, because it is made up of separate nations with their own democratic processes; however, some of its past decisions have had global effects.
For example, the G7 played a crucial role in setting up a global fund to fight malaria and Aids in 2002 and, ahead of the 2021 G7 summit in the UK, the G7 finance ministers agreed to make multinational companies pay more tax.
It also provided financial aid to developing countries as well as addressing climate change.
Who is attending the 2024 G7 summit?
The G7 are represented by:
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, United Kingdom
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
President Emmanuel Macron, France
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan
President Joe Biden, United States
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Charles Michel, President of the European Council
Other attendees are Pope Francis, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish leader Recep Erdogan, India’s Narendra Modi and South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa.
What are the key issues for the G7 summit 2024?
In summary, the two biggest issues facing the leaders are what action, if any, to take around the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
Having already imposed massive sanctions on Russia, the G7 nations are now said to be working on a scheme to pass interest earned from frozen assets to Ukraine.
This could aid Ukraine’s efforts by up to $50 billion and would be welcomed by Mr Zelensky.
As for Gaza, the G7 is well placed to discuss a ceasefire and release of hostages which it might then act upon and look to try and set up a peace deal.
Other talking points include AI risks and economic security.
Meanwhile, the presence of several African nations can also lead to discussions of a potential energy agreement, with a pipeline and renewable energy project said to be on the table.
