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Today, the 14th of May, the leaders of the 7 most powerful countries in the world have gathered in the Italian city of Fasano, famous for its white houses and arches. The meeting of the largest group of rich countries ‘G7’ is being held here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also arrived to attend the meeting of this organization as the chief guest.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had sent him an invitation for this summit before the election. However, this is not the first time that India has been invited as a guest by this organization. India first participated in this summit in 2003. For this the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to France.
India is not a part of this organization, so can India also join this club of rich countries… Get answers to all these questions from foreign affairs expert Rajan Kumar…
The G7 happened after the Saudis made oil 300% more expensive
It is 1973. A war broke out between Israel and the Arab countries in the Middle East. Meanwhile, US President Richard Nixon announced 18 thousand crore rupees to help Israel. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who supports Palestine, was very upset with this decision of America. He planned to teach a lesson not only to America but to all Western countries that support Israel.
King Faisal called a meeting of OPEC, the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries. It was decided that these countries would drastically reduce oil production. The result was that by 1974 there was a world oil shortage.
Due to which the price of oil increased by 300%. It had the greatest impact on America and its wealthy allies. There was an economic crisis. Inflation started to touch the sky.
The next year in 1975, 6 of the world’s richest countries came together, troubled by rising oil prices. These countries formed an organization to promote their interests. It was called ‘Group of Six’ i.e. G6. Including America, Germany, Japan, Italy, Britain and France. In 1976, the organization became the G7 with the addition of Canada.
Why was Soviet Russia included in the G7 when it collapsed, then dropped?
When the G7 was formed in 1975, it was the Cold War era. On one side was the Soviet Union and its supporting countries. who together formed a group called Warsaw. Anti-Leftist Western countries like France, Italy, West Germany (Germany was divided into two at that time), America, Britain, Japan and Canada came on a platform to counter this.
Their aim was to sit together and discuss economic issues related to their interests and confront Soviet Russia.
The second phase of the G7 organization begins in 1998. Soviet Russia was divided into many pieces. The Cold War was over. Only then was Russia included. The President of Russia at this time was Boris Yeltsin. Russia’s policy at that time was also in support of America and Western countries.
After Russia joined the G7 it was renamed G8. It was expelled from the organization after Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.
This picture is from the first G7 summit held in France.
Question 1: What is the function of G7?
At the first meeting of the G7 organization, a plan was drawn up to deal with the oil crisis initiated by Saudi Arabia. At that time the exchange rate crisis started. This meant that the US had de-linked the value of the dollar from gold. America did this to increase the dominance of dollar instead of gold in the world. However, this started economic problems for other countries.
Meanwhile, Western countries felt that they needed to come together to formulate policies at the monetary level, so that they could resolve their trade and trade issues among themselves.
Since then meetings of this organization are held continuously every year. These countries discuss important issues related to world politics and economy.
Example- At the G7 meeting held in 2022, all seven countries announced economic sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine war. At the same time, China was warned against its debt trap last year.
Question 2: Did the G7 countries come together to assert their dominance in the world?
When the G7 began in 1975, these countries controlled 60% of world GDP. Their per capita income was also higher. This organization promotes the interests of the rich countries of the world.
On the other hand, the countries of the Global South i.e. the poor and developing countries have never agreed with the policies of the G7. The reason is that these countries want to control various world organizations like WTO, IMF and World Bank. These countries want to continue to dictate the world according to their will on issues like trade and climate change.
Example– These countries subsidize their farmers in different ways, but prevent India, China and others from doing so.
The reason is that when the Indian government subsidizes its farmers, Indian grain is cheaper in the world than the grain of countries like America. Due to which the western countries suffer.
These countries prevent other countries from using coal to prevent climate change. While these countries themselves have developed using coal.
Question 3: Can India also join this club of rich countries?
Answer: According to the Hudson Institute, India has participated in this summit 11 times. He has been continuously invited as a guest for the past 5 years. Due to this India is often seen as a permanent member of G7. Understand this with a small case…
It was 2007, the G7 summit was to be held in Germany. The then Chancellor of Germany invited India as a guest. At that time the UPA government was in the country and the Prime Minister was Manmohan Singh. India certainly received an invitation from Germany, but Chancellor Merkel spared little time to present her ideas to the guest countries. This angered Manmohan and threatened not to attend the summit. After this, to convince them, Germany had to extend the time allotted to India and other guest countries.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (file photo)
India’s frequent invitation to G7 is due to its increasing influence and responsibility in the world. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is losing its influence. The UNSC is no longer able to take strong decisions due to the deteriorating relations between the US and China-Russia.
For example, North Korea repeatedly tests missiles in violation of regulations, yet the UNSC cannot impose strong sanctions against North Korea because China and Russia veto them.
In the 1980s, the GDP of the G7 countries accounted for 60 percent of total world GDP. Now it has come down to about 40 percent. Apart from the influential countries of the G7, its influence is likely to decline further in the future. India can become a new member of G7. There are many reasons for this. 1. India ranks third in the world in terms of defense expenditure. 2. India’s GDP is equal to that of Britain and more than France, Italy and Canada. 3. India is a democratic country, so G7 invites India every year and wants to discuss every major issue of the world with it.
Question 4: Are there attempts to make India anti-China and anti-Russian by participating in G7 meetings?
Answer: No, India’s foreign policy is quite clear. India’s policy has always been multi-aligned, meaning that India has never supported any single group.
India also has cooperation with western countries. India has good economic relations with western countries. These countries are also democracies like India. At the same time, most of India’s skilled workers go to America for work and study. However, India does not come under the pressure of America.
Apart from this, India also does not participate in the policy of America and Western countries to impose restrictions on other countries.
Example- India did not support either camp in the war between Russia and Ukraine. While the US continued to push for support for Ukraine. At the same time, India is also a member of the G20 if it is going to the G7 meeting. India is also a member of BRICS, SCO.
Question 5: What benefit does India get from participating in G7 meetings despite not being a member?
Answer: Prime Minister’s participation in this meeting can benefit India in 3 ways…
1. In the G7, many trilateral meetings are held between three different countries as needed. In this, India can sit with any two countries and present their views on any issue.
2. India does not agree with G7 countries on many issues. such as climate change and business-trade. In such a situation, by participating in the G7 meeting, we can present the view of the developing countries to the rich countries of the G7. However, India’s role in decision-making is quite limited.
At the same time, even the G7 countries do not agree on many things about India. Like giving free visa to our workers. India does not agree with the policy of subversion and interference in other G7 countries.
India does not agree that these countries interfere in the internal affairs of other countries without taking a decision in the UN. When they are invited to India as guests, we can present our stand on these matters.
India abides by international law. It is easier for countries of the world to trust India than China. They feel that it is important to have India on their side.
Question 6: How much unity is there between the G7 countries?
Answer: G7 countries have a lot of solidarity to their advantage. However, there are many differences between them. America’s policy is to always keep these countries within the ambit of NATO. He does not want to allow any other military organization to be formed. He feels that NATO will be in danger if Germany and France form another alliance.
In 2018, US President Donald Trump refused to sign the G7 joint statement paper. He accused Canada of imposing high tariffs on its workers and companies. Meanwhile, this attitude of America increased the concern of the rest of the countries of the organization. However, Biden has brushed off those concerns.
At the same time, when it comes to opposing China, these countries are not united. Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron returned from China and said he supports the One China policy, while America, in contrast, supports Taiwan. Apart from France, Germany and Italy also have good relations with China.
Question 7: Why is the G7 criticized?
Answer: 6 reasons why the rest of the world is unhappy with the G7…
- The G7 promotes the interests of rich countries. Does not favor other countries.
- These organizations sometimes help poor countries, but they don’t support other countries on big issues like technology sharing.
- These countries refused to provide the Covid vaccine technology to poorer countries even during the pandemic.
- They do not consult other countries while making major decisions. For example, after the Ukraine war, other countries did not agree to impose sanctions on Russia.
- The lobbies of these 7 countries are strengthened whenever there is talk of reform in major international institutions.
- These countries no longer want timely reforms in international laws and regulations. They are busy pursuing their interests in the WTO.
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