47th G7 Summit | 18 Jan 2021

Why in News

The United Kingdom has invited Indian Prime Minister as a guest to attend the 47^th G7 summit that is scheduled to be held in June 2021.

Key Points

• Other Guest Countries:
  
  • Apart from India, Australia and South Korea are also invited to participate in the proceedings of the summit as “guest countries”.
• UK, India & G7:
  
  • The UK was the first P5 member to support a permanent UN Security Council seat for India and the first G7 member to invite India to a G7 Summit in 2005.
• The proposed summit will be the first in-person G-7 summit in almost two years.
• Objective:
  
  • Unite leading democracies to help the world build back better from the coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future.

Group of Seven (G-7)

• About:
  
  • 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 G-7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.
• Members:
  
  • G-7 is a bloc of industrialized democracies i.e. France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and Canada.
  • The G7 was known as the ‘G8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997.
  • The Group returned to being called G7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine
• Summit Participation:
  
  • Summits are held annually and hosted on a rotation basis by the group's members.
  • The groundwork for the summit, including matters to be discussed and follow-up meetings, is done by the “sherpas”, who are generally personal representatives or members of diplomatic staff such as ambassadors.
  • The leaders of important international organizations like European Union, IMF, World Bank and the United Nations are also invited.
• Challenges and Concerns:
  
  • Policies:
    
    • Internally the G7 has a number of disagreements, e.g. clash of the USA with other members over taxes on imports and action on climate change.
    • The organisation has also been criticised for not reflecting the current state of global politics or economics.
  • Not Representative:
    
    • There are no G7 members from Africa, Latin America or the southern hemisphere.
    • It is also facing a challenge from fast-growing emerging economies, like India and Brazil are not members of the G7.
    • However, G-20 was formed in 1999, in response to a felt need to bring more countries on board to address global economic concerns.
• India and G-7
  
  • Previous Participation:
    
    • The participation of India at the 45^th summit in Biarritz, France, in August 2019 is a reflection of deepening strategic partnership and recognition of India as a major economic power.
    • India was also invited for the 2020 summit hosted by the USA which could not take place due to the pandemic.
    • Previously India had attended the G-8 summit (it became G-7 from G-8 with the expulsion of Russia in 2014) five times between 2005 and 2009.
  • Important Platform for Deliberations:
    
    • India’s ability to safeguard its core sovereign concerns such as trade, Kashmir issue and India’s relations with Russia and Iran can be discussed with G7 members.
  • Taking on Global Stage:
    
    • India raised issues on climate change and at meetings which signaled India’s growing willingness to lead on issues that are points of contention for countries like China and the USA.
  • Significance of India at G7:
    
    • As current president of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) and G20 president in 2023, India will play a key role driving in multilateral cooperation helping to build back better around the world.

Source:TH