Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—gathered in Kananaskis, Alberta, on Sunday, for three days as part of the 51st G7 Summit.
The summit this year is overshadowed by the unresolved trade war because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is among the heads of state from non-G7 nations who have been invited to attend the seventh G7 summit hosted by Canada. This year’s summit will not conclude with a joint statement or communique. For the summit, Trump arrived in Kananaskis. Given that he left the G7 in 2018, it would be interesting to watch him at the summit.
The most recent indication of an unstable world is Israel’s attacks on Iran and Tehran’s response, which seemed to take many international leaders by surprise.
As a sign of how far Israel was willing to go, Trump recently vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
Trump, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other international leaders had discussed steps to de-escalate the conflict, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also stated that he anticipated “intense discussions” to continue during the summit.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is hosting the summit, has made the decision to forgo the custom of releasing a joint statement, or communiqué, at the conclusion of the meeting.
The summit runs the risk of turning into a series of bilateral discussions rather than a demonstration of unity since other leaders want to speak with Trump and persuade him not to impose tariffs.
Trump is the wild card at the summit. His provocative threats to annex Greenland and declare Canada the 51st state loom over the summit. On his way to Canada, French President Emmanuel Macron made a highly symbolic detour in Greenland on Sunday. Greenland is “not to be sold” or “to be taken,” he said.
“Everybody in France, the European Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” Macron said during a press conference, applauded by the local crowd.
“The situation in Greenland is clearly a wakeup call for all Europeans. Let me tell you very directly that you’re not alone,” he added.
Late on Sunday, Trump’s jet touched down in Alberta. Before the summit starts on Monday morning, he and Carney will have bilateral talks.
Lee Jae Myung, the newly elected president of South Korea, is scheduled to leave on Monday for the summit in Canada. Less than two weeks after his office term began earlier this month, he makes his diplomatic debut on the international scene with this significant global appearance.
Modi also arrived in Canada. Carney’s invitation to Modi to attend the G7 summit drew a lot of criticism due to the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist movement activist in British Columbia in 2023.