The leaders of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – countries collectively known as the Group of Seven (G7) – are meeting on Friday for a two-day summit in the resort town of Taormina, Italy.
The bloc meets annually to discuss a wide range of issues, including global economy, security and energy – and this year will be no exception.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal bloc of industrialised democracies. Its current members make up nearly 50 percent of the world economy, and represent more than 60 percent of net global wealth.
The G7 takes no mandatory decisions, and the meeting is billed as an opportunity to allow leaders to exchange ideas in key issues. A leaders’ declaration at the end of summit is not binding in nature.
The presidency, which rotates among member states, is responsible for setting the agenda and arranging logistics.
The G7 no longer represents all of the world’s leading economies. A broader club, the Group of 20, or G20, was set up in 1999 and includes other major global players, including China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, South Africa and Turkey.
This year, acting President Professor, Yemi Osinbajo was invited to the ongoing G7 summit to represent Nigeria. he joined other world leaders for the Africa Outreach meeting.
VP Osinbajo’s spokesperson Laolu Akande said the acting President left Nigeria for the summit in the early hours of Saturday, May 27, 2017 and he’s scheduled to return to Nigeria later in the evening.
During the summit he met with US President Trump, newly elected French President Macron amongst other world leaders.
Photos below:
US President Donald Trump (C) poses with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta (L), Guinea’s President Alpha Conde (2ndL), Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo (2ndR) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn after a family photo of the leaders of the G7 and the leaders of some African countries that have been invited for the two-day talks, on the second day of the G7 summit of Heads of State and of Government, on May 27, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily. / AFP PHOTO / Tiziana FABI (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)
