G-7 Summit in Japan: Top issues that leaders need to discuss during their meeting
6 min read . Updated: 18 May 2023, 12:01 PM IST
PremiumLeaders of some of the world’s most advanced economies gather in the Japanese city of Hiroshima from Friday facing a clutch of collective challenges.
Distinguished representatives from the world's most developed economies will convene in Hiroshima, Japan, starting from May 19, confronting a series of shared challenges. These include the persistently uncertain global economic landscape, marked by inflationary pressures and rising living costs.
Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin's military activities in Ukraine persist, while China, in the wake of the pandemic, is actively enhancing its economic influence and strategic power.
As the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations, comprising the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada, come together, there are key areas that demand their attention and concerted efforts during this gathering.
Send a message to the Global South
One of the biggest challenges for the G-7 is to enlist nations outside the group, especially those in what is known as the Global South (or what the G-7 calls “middle countries") — in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere in Asia.
In an increasingly multipolar world, these countries may attach themselves to the bigger power in their own neighborhood, or to China, rather than the US and its allies. Japan has invited leaders from countries including Vietnam, India, Brazil and the African Union to the sidelines of the summit.
Numerous nations have shown reluctance to impose sanctions on Russia due to concerns over the impact on their own economies, thus avoiding involvement in wider conflicts.
Some countries express dissatisfaction with what they perceive as years of neglect from the United States and criticize its tendency to lecture on values and human rights while dealing with its own internal challenges.
From the perspective of the Global South, the G-7 is urged to move beyond mere acknowledgment and demonstrate concrete actions. These nations seek clear indications of debt support and other tangible economic measures.
Explore loopholes of sanctions on Russia
The consequences imposed on Russia in response to its military incursion into Ukraine are unparalleled in terms of their extensive scope and profound impact. Despite this, the Russian economy has managed to endure, albeit to a lesser extent.
Moscow continues to engage in the exportation of oil and gas, employing creative strategies to circumvent the imposed sanctions.
Leaders from the G-7 nations, together with their counterparts from the European Union, will convene in Japan to explore potential measures to address the existing loopholes. One of the proposals under consideration is the implementation of a near-total embargo on exports to Russia, although this particular suggestion encounters significant obstacles.
Conversely, there will be a unified demonstration of solidarity and support for Ukraine, which is preparing for a counter-offensive.
Send a message to China
G-7 leaders are grappling with the question of how to tackle China. They risk getting tangled up in confused verbiage (the approach of “de-risking" without “decoupling" from China). But the European position does appear to be hardening, even as the US tones down some of its rhetoric, allowing them to meet in the middle.
The complex reality is that, despite discussions on the diversification of supply chains, repatriation of industries, and achieving self-reliance in the technology sector, the G-7 nations continue to be interconnected and to some extent reliant on the world's second-largest economy.
Therefore, attempting to compartmentalize various aspects such as imposing punitive measures on China for perceived "economic coercion" while simultaneously collaborating with it on global health and environmental matters presents an immensely intricate challenge.
Stop nuclear weapons
The summit location of Hiroshima is a potent reminder that Japan was bombed twice with nuclear weapons by the US in the dying days of World War II. Japan has since adopted a pacifist constitution and a firm anti-nuclear stance, warning the world against complacency that nuclear weapons could never again be used in a conflict.
Now the architecture around the monitoring of nuclear arsenals is fraying, with Russia suspending its involvement in the New Start nuclear arms treaty with the US, the last accord limiting their strategic stockpiles.
In the realm of international relations, Kim Jong Un's persistent displays of military aggression and nuclear aspirations remain a cause for concern, particularly in closer proximity to Japan.
As a response to the North Korean buildup, South Korea has intermittently expressed considerations about acquiring nuclear armaments as a means of safeguarding its own interests.
In light of these developments, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has extended an invitation to his South Korean counterpart to attend the G-7 summit, where the leaders will likely pay a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Park, home to a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Korean atomic bombings.
Minimize sideline issues
For the hosts, the challenge as always will be to keep the meeting from being derailed by whatever crisis de jour is burning elsewhere. This time around there are a number of things that could coincide.
US President Joe Biden comes to the G-7 chased by a debt ceiling crisis at home. It’s only a few weeks, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, until her department could run out of cash, and Biden is cutting his Asia trip short to return home straight after the summit. Biden at 80 also faces pressure to show he’s fit and ready to lead the Democrats through a grueling reelection campaign. At last year’s G-7 in Germany he skipped parts of the official program, a decision that raised eyebrows.
The leaders of France and Italy come to Hiroshima after a period of tussling between their governments. Sniping between Rome and Paris is not new, and on major global issues they are largely on the same page. But we’re in a downswing after France’s interior minister recently branded Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s team a “far-right government" that’s “incapable of fixing Italy’s migration problems." It’ll be interesting to see if Meloni meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Hiroshima to paper over the cracks.
Turkey — a key NATO member and a growing middle power in the Middle East — is facing a runoff election on May 28 with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faring better in the first round than predicted. G-7 leaders will watch the campaign stretch closely given the outcome matters for issues surrounding Russia, the Ukraine grain deal and Middle East dynamics as a whole.
The meeting coincides with a gathering of the Arab League leadership, where Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad may turn up following his reinstatement more than a decade after his crackdown on opponents started during the Arab Spring uprisings. It’d be a symbolic moment — for all the years of criticism by the US and others for his brutality in Syria (then-president Barack Obama once demanded Assad “must go"), the Syrian leader is very much back at the table.
Challenges like AI, crypto
The leaders are expected to engage in discussions pertaining to various significant issues, such as the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the need for regulatory measures in the realm of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, with several regions of the world grappling with the escalation of temperatures and perilous heatwaves, the G-7 will need to address the urgent requirement for coordinated responses to this escalating global threat.
The implications of these environmental challenges extend far beyond health concerns, encompassing fiscal, economic, and security aspects that necessitate immediate attention and collaborative strategies.
(With Bloomberg inputs)