G7 Countries

• It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975.
• The bloc meets annually to discuss issues of common interest like global economic governance, international security and energy policy.
• The G7 countries are the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

• All the G7 countries and India are a part of G20.
• The G7 does not have a formal charter or a secretariat. The presidency, which rotates among member countries each year, is in charge of setting the agenda. Sherpas, ministers and envoys hammer out policy initiatives before the summit.
• As of 2022, G7 countries make up 10% of the world’s population, 31% of global GDP, and 21% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Summit website. China and India, the two most populous countries with among the largest GDP figures in the world, are not part of the grouping.

History of G7

• The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.
• The concept of a forum for the capitalist world’s major industrialized countries emerged before the 1973 oil crisis.
• The informal gathering of senior financial officials from the U.S., U.K., West Germany, Japan, and France became known as the “Group of Five”.
• The participants exchanged ideas on the economic problems of the 1970s  like the first oil crisis and the collapse of the system of fixed exchange rates (Bretton Woods) and agreed on international economic policy and initial measures to fight the global downturn.
• In 1976, Canada was also invited to join the group and the first meeting with all G-7 nations was hosted by the United States which was held in Puerto Rico in 1976.
• In 1977, the United Kingdom, which hosted that year’s summit, invited the European Economic Community (later incorporated into the EU) to join all G7 summits; beginning in 1981, it had attended every gathering.
• In 1997, Russia joined the grouping making it G-8. This was a signal of cooperation between East and West after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.
• Later Russia was expelled from the grouping in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea. The group went back to being G-7 again.

Challenges Faced by G7 Members

• There are a number of disagreements in the Group of 7 internally, e.g. clash of the USA with other members over taxes on imports and action on climate change.
• It is also facing a challenge from fast-growing emerging economies like India and Brazil are not members of the G7.
• G7 The organization has also been criticized for not reflecting the current state of global politics or economics.

Conclusion

G7 still has value because all member countries are grappling with similar issues.  The 2022 summit concentrates more on the war in Ukraine and the need to reduce dependence on Russian energy, especially in Europe.

Daily CA Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjYal_Lblfc&list=PLFQ–K7iykf0dddxAMwciYGUyDiZqAk8n&index=7