G-7 (Group of Seven) bloc

Syllabus subtopic: Important International Institutions, agencies and fora - their Structure, Mandate.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the COVID-19 outbreak; about G-7 and its working

News: The Group of Seven (G-7) finance chiefs said they’re ready to act to shelter their economies from the spreading coronavirus, though they stopped short of spelling out what specific measures they would put into place.

About G-7 (Group of Seven)

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 Group of Seven (G7) is an international intergovernmental economic organization consisting of the seven (International Monetary Fund) IMF- advanced economies in the world: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

As of 2018, the seven countries involved represent 58% of the global net wealth ($317 trillion) and more than 46% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) based on nominal values, and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity. The European Union is an invitee to G7.

Working

Since 1975, the group meets annually on summit site to discuss economic policies; since 1987, the G7 Finance Ministers have met at least semi-annually, up to four times a year at stand-alone meetings.

The annual G7 leaders summit is attended by the heads of government. The member country holding the G7 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year's summit. Generally every country hosts the summit once every 7 years

G7 is capable of setting the global agenda because decisions taken by these major economic powers have a real impact. Thus, decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.

Criticisms

G7 gatherings tend to attract thousands of protesters, and it is protested by thousands every year.

Many protesters claim the G7 – which has no representative from any African, Russian or Middle Eastern nation – is completely outdated.

Protest groups also use the worldwide platform as a stage to lobby and campaign on issues that are important to them.

G7 leaders are creating a wide gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ both in their countries as well as across the globe, according to a report published by non-profit Oxfam International. As a result, they are making the fight against alleviating poverty more difficult, claimed the report.

Source: Livemint

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