G7
Inter-governmental political forum / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government.[1][2][3] As of 2020, G7 members are large IMF advanced economies and account for over half of global net wealth (at over $200 trillion),[4] 30 to 43 percent of global gross domestic product,[n 1] and 10 percent of the world's population (770 million people).[5] Its members maintain mutually close political, economic, diplomatic, and military relations in global affairs.
Group of Seven | |||||||||||||||||
G7 leaders during the emergency meeting about the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea | |||||||||||||||||
_Countries.svg) The G7-states (blue) and the EU (teal)
Member states and key leaders:
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| Founder | Library Group: | ||||||||||||||||
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| Type | Informal club | ||||||||||||||||
| Purpose | Political and economic forum | ||||||||||||||||
Formerly called |
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Originating from an ad hoc gathering of finance ministers in 1973, the G7 has since become a formal, high-profile venue for discussing and coordinating solutions to major global issues, especially in the areas of trade, security, economics, and climate change.[6] Each member's head of government or state, along with the EU's Commission President and European Council President, meet annually at the G7 Summit; other high-ranking officials of the G7 and the EU meet throughout the year. Representatives of other states and international organizations are often invited as guests, with Russia having been a formal member (as part of the G8) from 1997 until its expulsion in 2014.
The G7 is not based on a treaty and has no permanent secretariat or office. It is organized through a presidency that rotates annually among the member states, with the presiding state setting the group's priorities and hosting the summit; Japan presides for 2023.[7] While lacking a legal or institutional basis, the G7 is widely considered to wield significant international influence;[8] it has catalyzed or spearheaded several major global initiatives, including efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, provide financial aid to developing countries, and address climate change through the 2015 Paris Agreement.[8][1][9] However, the group has been criticized by observers for its allegedly outdated and limited membership, narrow global representation, and ineffectualness.[10][11][12]