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G7:

GS Paper 2:

Topic covered: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

 

Context:

G7 has sought to present a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

  • This decision was taken at the recent G7 meeting, attended in person by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada.
  • This decision comes amid international concern that Russia could invade Ukraine. However, Russia denies planning any attack.

 

What’s the issue?

  • Ukraine is at the centre of a crisis in East-West relations as it accuses Russia of amassing tens of thousands of troops in preparation for a possible large-scale military offensive.
  • Russia accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilising behaviour, and has said it needs security guarantees for its own protection.

 

What is G7?

The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.

Composition: The summit gathers leaders from the European Union (EU) and the following countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The major purpose of the G-7 is to discuss and deliberate on international economic issues. It sometimes acts in concert to help resolve other global problems, with a special focus on economic issues.

 

How did G7 become G8?

  • Russia was formally inducted as a member in the group in 1998, which led G7 to become G8.
  • However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s condemnable act of moving Russian troops into eastern Ukraine and conquering Crimea in 2014 drew heavy criticism from the other G8 nations.
  • The other nations of the group decided to suspend Russia from the G8 as a consequence of its actions and the group became G7 again in 2014.

 

InstaCurious:

Do you know about the Four Asian Tigers? Read Here.

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. Groups: G7, G8, G10, G15, G20, G24 countries.
  2. Geographical location of member countries.

 

Mains Link:

Discuss the relevance of G7 countries today. What are the reforms necessary to make the grouping more effective?

Sources: the Hindu.