G7 in 2025: Why the Group of Seven Still Sets the Global Agenda

So, what is the G7, really?

Think of it as an exclusive guest-list dinner party for the world’s richest democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the European Union tagging along as an extra chair at the table. All told, they steer almost half of global GDP, which is why every big decision they make—on trade rules, climate targets or tech standards—ripples out to the rest of us.

 

 

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A quick origin story

• 1975, Rambouillet, France: Six leaders hid away in a hunting lodge to figure out how to survive the mid-70s oil shock.

• 1976: Canada joined, creating the G7.

• 1997–2014: Russia came in (G8!) and then got kicked out after annexing Crimea—back to G7.

The appeal has always been intimacy: seven leaders, no huge UN-style stage, just “let’s hash this out behind closed doors and turn up with a plan.”

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How does it actually work?

1. The annual summit: Two intense days where presidents and prime ministers debate, bargain and eventually sign a big “Leaders’ Communiqué.”

2. Sherpas (yes, that’s their job title): Each leader’s top negotiator who spends months hammering out the fine print so the bosses can agree in public.

3. Guest passes: The host country invites a handful of non-members—often India or the African Union—to keep the club from looking too small or too Western.

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Greatest hits

• 1985 Plaza Accord: The G7 jointly pushed the U.S. dollar down, showing they could move currency markets overnight.

• 2021 Minimum global corporate tax (15 %): A once-crazy idea that suddenly became real and is now being baked into national laws worldwide.

• 2024 Apulia Summit, Italy: Long-term security funding for Ukraine, a $60 billion climate-resilient infrastructure pot, and the first set of shared rules on artificial-intelligence safety.

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The 2025 summit in Kananaskis, Canada—why you’ll hear about it

• Where & when? June 16-17, in a picture-postcard resort in the Canadian Rockies.

• New faces: First G7 outing for several freshly elected leaders—and the return of Donald Trump in the U.S. seat.

• Hot topics on the draft agenda:

  • Guardrails for AI and quantum tech

  • Supply-chain “de-risking” (code for “less China, please”)

  • Better wildfire-resilience funding as climate extremes worsen

  • Ongoing Russia sanctions and a wary eye on the Middle East

• Special guest: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, signaling that the club knows it needs the Global South on side.

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The criticism column

“Seven Western economies in 2025 can’t speak for the world.” True. China and India together now pump out a third of global output.
“They issue glossy communiqués but who enforces them?” Also fair—everything relies on national follow-through.
“The G20 already exists—why keep a smaller club?” Fans say the G7 can strike a deal faster, then walk into the G20 and set the tone.

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Why it still matters

1. Speed: Coordinated sanctions or export controls can be drafted in weeks, not months.

2. Rule-setting: From AI safety to clean-tech subsidies, the first draft often comes out of a G7 press room.

3. Financial muscle: Their central banks hold the world’s leading reserve currencies.

4. Global signal: Even countries not in the room tweak policies after reading the communiqué.

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Three tension points to watch after Kananaskis

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Bottom line

At 50 years old, the G7 is no longer the cosy club that once carved up currency policy over brandy in a French château. But when the world needs quick consensus—from plugging loopholes in Russia sanctions to deciding how AI should (and should not) be used—the phone lines between Ottawa, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome and Washington still heat up first. The Kananaskis summit will show whether that tight-knit format can keep pace with a far messier, multipolar world.