Leaders of the G7 economies are about to hold a three-day summit in the UK. The important topics to be discussed are: climate change, the economy, the coronavirus pandemic and geopolitics.
Below is a descriptive guide to the summit in Britain.
What will happen?
From Friday to Sunday, the leaders of seven of the world's most advanced economies will meet in Cornwall, in the southwest of England.
They will discuss shared challenges, from the pandemic and vaccines to climate change, as well as “ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery,” according to the UK government.
It is the first face-to-face G7 summit in almost two years. Britain wants “leaders to seize the opportunity to build back better from coronavirus, coming together to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous.”
Who will be there?
The big names at the summit are undoubtedly the leaders of the G-7, which is made up of United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Also attending is the European Union, which is sent to the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council.
The summit is considered one of the few forums where the world's most influential societies and advanced economies come together for close discussions.
This year, Australia, India and South Korea will attend as guest countries “to deepen expertise and experience around the table,” the UK government said.
Summit attendees represent more than 60% of people living in democracies around the world, which means approximately 2.200 billion people and more than half of the global economy.
Where will the meeting be held?
The UK is hosting the summit because it holds the rotating presidency of the G-7. This year's meeting will be held in the coastal city of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, the most northerly region south west england and a popular holiday destination for Britons.
G-7 members will meet in the Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate; there will be security at the venue and the surrounding area, as tight as one would expect in the presence of world leaders. A high-security zone has been defined around the hotel and the perimeter of Tregenna Castle, where the G-7 leaders will be staying.
What will be the topics of conversation?
The UK is hosting the G7 at a critical time for the world, as major countries seek to vaccinate their citizens in order to emerge from the pandemic and return to other crucial and urgent issues, such as promoting free trade and combating climate change ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November, also hosted by the same country.
At the 7 G2021 summit, the UK hopes to unite the group under the theme of “building back better” after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will seek to achieve this by:
- lead the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience to future pandemics (the UK is also expected to call on other G7 leaders to make concrete commitments to vaccinate the entire world against coronavirus by the end of 2022).
- Promote future prosperity by defending the free and fair trade.
- cope with climate change and preserve the planet's biodiversity.
- Defending shared values.
Russia and China are expected to be topics of conversation at the G-7 summit amid continued discontent over Russia's destabilizing actions (and the prospect of more sanctions against the country) and China's trade policies.
Will there be any action after the summit?
Like other major meetings of world leaders, G-7 summits can often be criticized as nothing more than talk of change that never materializes.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the format ahead of the summit, commenting that “the G7, as the most prominent group of democratic countries, has long been the catalyst for decisive international action to address the greatest challenges we face.”
"From cancelling the developing world's debt to our universal condemnation of Russia's annexation of Crimea, the world has looked to the G7 to apply our shared values and diplomatic power to create a more open and prosperous planet," he said in a statement.
“The coronavirus is, without a doubt, the most destructive force we have seen for generations and the greatest test of the modern world order we have ever experienced. It is right that we address the challenge of building back better by coming together in a spirit of openness to create a brighter future.”
Source: Information from CNBC
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