Country leaders meet Seven GroupCanada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States in the remote town of Cananascis at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the Canadian province of Alberta, to hold extensive discussions over a period of 3 days.
This summit, which is held from 15 to 17 June, is the 51st edition since the start of the group of the group in 1975 in Ramboy, France, when it was known as the Six Group before Canada joined it the following year.
Later, it turned into the eight group when Russia joined in 1998, but it returned to the seven again after excluding Moscow in 2014 after its annexation Crimea Peninsula.
The summit of this year comes amid an escalating tensions in several areas, and witnessing sharp discussions on the worsening crisis in the Middle East, especially after the widespread Israeli strikes against Iran.
On the bilateral level, the repercussions of the US President’s statements are still Donald Trump Which called for Canada to be the 51st state in the United States, cast a shadow. The Canadian Prime Minister responded Mark Carney Last May, during a meeting with Trump in the White House, saying: “Canada is not for sale … never.”
Although the seven group represents approximately 44 % of global GDP, it only represents 10 % of the world’s population. The United States remains the largest economy in the group, with a large difference from the rest of its countries.
Who are the attendees?
The summit is held in Canada this year, and it is the seventh time that the seven group has been chaired. Besides the leaders of the group’s countries and representatives of the European Union, Carney called on the leaders of other countries to be guests at the top.
Among them are the President of Mexico Claudia Shinbom and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
Moody’s invitation raised many questions in Canada. Relations between India and Canada have been strained since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of the assassination of a Sikkhi separatist leader in Canada in 2023. The Sikh World Organization said that Carney’s invitation was “a betrayal of Canadian Sikhs”, as the Canadian Union of Sikhs described it as “great insult.”
But Carney, who seeks to diversify Canadian trade away from the United States, defended his decision, indicating that it is logical to the group of seven invitation to India, because it is the fifth largest economy in the world and is an important part of the global supply chains.
Last March, Carney also called on Ukraine President Volodimir Zellinski to attend this summit. It is also expected that the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea will also attend.
Are customs duties within the discussion?
During his current term, US President Donald Trump imposed large customs duties on all members of the Group, as well as on most countries of the world, which sparked a global trade war. According to Trump, the goal of this step is to reduce the large trade deficit of the United States with other countries.
Although this file remains tense, it is not expected to be officially discussed during the summit, as Carney seeks to maintain the minimum harmony between member states, at a time when many countries are still trying to reach commercial agreements with Washington.
Last May, the United Kingdom reached the first agreement with the United States, to reduce the fees on American goods from 5.1 % to 1.8 %, compared to Washington dilution of some of the fees imposed. Japan and the European Union are seeking to conclude similar agreements before the expiry of the suspension of mutual fees on July 9.
It should be noted the sum of 2018 hosted by Canada, and Trump left angry and ordered not to sign the closing statement, and the Canadian Prime Minister attacked Trudeau, describing it as a “false and weak”.
Although signing the statement is a symbolic matter, the incident reflected a clear political tension. “Another summit of the seven group in which other countries expect that America will be a bank. The president explained today: No more,” wrote his national security advisor at the time.
But this year, it seems that the atmosphere will be quieter. John Certon, a researcher at the Affairs of the Group of Seven at the University of Toronto, says the relationship between Carney and Trump is better likely that Trump avoids any escalation, especially as the United States is ready to host the group’s summit in 2027.
What are the issues raised on the top schedule?
According to the website on the Internet, there are 3 main goals on the agenda this year: “Protecting our societies around the world”, “building energy security and speeding digital transition”, and “securing future partnerships”.
But the leaders of the Seven Group are likely to focus on the conflict between Israel and Iran.
And if this issue does not dominate the entire discussions, then other issues raised will be global trade, the war of Russia and Ukraine, and China.
Israel and Iran war
Julia Coleick, director of the strategic initiatives of the Group of Group Research Group at Tirinto University College, said the discussions on world peace that would focus on the conflict between Russia, Ukraine and the Israeli war on Gaza will now likely turn into Iran, said Julia Coleick, Director of the Strategic Initiatives of the Group of Group Research at the Toronto University College.
“There will be difficult questions from other leaders to Donald Trump about what happened wrongly in the negotiations and what he would do to make Israel reduce escalation before things deteriorate more,” said Coleick in an interview with the island.
For his part, Robert Rogwski, professor of trade and economic diplomacy at the Midelbberry Institute for International Studies, said that members of the Group of Seven cannot avoid the issue of the recent crisis in the Middle East.
He added that “the attack, to respond to it, and the United States declaring that it is not involved in it and warning it against the consequences of targeting American origins, will likely be the first topic of discussion, because it now raises the possibility of a comprehensive war in the Middle East.”
World Trade
Although Carney hopes to cover unlimited topics, such as building global supply chains for biomedically, they are more harmonious, the China file may also be a focus of discussions.
The Group of Seven issued after a meeting of its financial ministers in Canada last May, a joint statement saying that it will continue to monitor “non -market policies and practices” that contribute to global trade imbalances.
The statement did not mention China by name, but “non -market policies” often indicate the support of exports and currency policies that the Trump administration says provides an advantage in international trade. The statement was considered a criticism of Chinese trade practices, especially its lending practices, which many see more than debt to poor countries.
The Group of Seven leaders are also expected to discuss concerns about the growing tensions between China and Taiwan in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as the military expansion of Beijing there.
The war of Russia and Ukraine
In a joint statement after their meeting in Quebec in mid -March, the Foreign Ministers of the Seven Group expressed their strong support for Kiev. The statement said that the finance ministers discussed “more sanctions on Russia” if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire.
The United Kingdom and the European Union announced a new round of sanctions against Russia in May, but Trump, who is taking place with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that the United States will not follow this path.
Therefore, sanctions against Russia and the ceasefire may also be the focus of discussions.
Global Development
This may be a thorny issue. Although global development, especially in African countries, was often the main axis of the seven -year discussions, the United States has made clear this year that it wants to reduce its priorities with regard to economic and humanitarian assistance to other countries.
Washington has dismantled the American Agency for International Development, and says it plans to make significant discounts in financing other health and development initiatives abroad.
What are the possible side meetings during the summit?
United States – European Union – Japan
Donald Trump is expected to hold meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Line and Japanese Prime Minister Shigao Ishiba. Both are keen to reach a trade agreement with Trump as soon as possible to avoid reprisal customs duties to which work is scheduled to be resumed in early July after it was suspended.
United States – Canada – Mexico
Trump, Carney and Mexico President Claudia Shinbom may also hold a separate meeting of North American leaders to discuss trade and border security.
Last February, Trump postponed the imposition of 25% fees on Canadian and Mexican goods at the last minute. Former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and President of Mexico agreed to enhance border security to prevent drugs and migrants from smuggling to the United States, which prevented a trade war.
Trump says he was particularly concerned about the flow of Fntanil to the United States from Canada and Mexico.
United States – South Africa
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramafuza, told reporters that he would hold a meeting with Trump during the Group of Seven Summit, after the two leaders meeting in Washington on May 21, where Trump accused South Africa of committing “genocide” against white farmers.
Earlier in May, 59 eggs were transferred from South Africa to the United States as part of the South African -white resettlement plan developed by the Trump administration.