This weekend, the Group of Seven world leaders will be gathering in Biarritz, France, for the 45th G7 summit. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is the G7 Summit?
The G7 Summit is the annual meeting of the Group of Seven leaders – the leaders of France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US – to discuss global challenges. For 2019, leaders will gather in France from August 25 – 27th.
Although the G7 has no political or legal authority, discussions between these seven world leaders have been known to spark global political and economic change – when they all agree!
Who is going to be there?
The G7 President for this year, Emmanuel Macron, will host the leaders of the G7 countries – Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel, Guiseppe Conte and Shinzo Abe – in France, alongside other global leaders including representatives of the European Union, the African Union, China, India, Mexico, and Brazil. Also in attendance will be leaders of important international organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD and the United Nations.
What are they going to be talking about?
Under the French presidency of the G7, this year’s summit is centred around the fight against inequalities. France has outlined five priorities in the fight against inequality:
- Fighting inequality of opportunity, so that everyone has a chance regardless of their gender and origins
- Fighting inequality related to environmental degradation
- Security and counter terrorism
- Fighting inequality through digital development and artificial intelligence
- Combating inequality through a renewed partnership with Africa
Ahead of the summit, Emma Watson, as a member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council, expressed her hopes for “concrete, bold commitments” from the G7 member states to “ditch discriminatory laws and adopt laws that lift up girls and women.”