Why the G7 matters, and needs to work

The G7 Summit in Bavaria, Germany, ended with the leaders of the world's wealthiest economies maintaining, with some caveats, the general direction of travel towards an economy less dependent on fossil fuels, more secure, and able to better deal with shocks such as the pandemic. The outcome is far from perfect, but is in the right direction.

As a group of the richest countries, all of them democracies, the G7 is, still, important. These are key players in global institutions like the UN and the World Bank. The 2022 summit took place in the context of multiple crises - the climate crisis that underpins all others, the Covid pandemic that has weakened economies pushing some countries further into debt and others to the brink of collapse, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting energy and food crisis. The G7 response to this perfect storm will frame and shape future geopolitics. The last time the G7 (then G8 with now expelled Russia) faced a major crisis, the G20 was formed. While that brought the biggest economies to the high table, it still failed in many ways to find the most effective ways to address the needs of the world, especially the most vulnerable nations. At the 2022 summit, the struggle between the leadership the wealthiest economies need to show and the temptation to tweak the rules to make 'things easy' was on full display. In the end, a compromise that provided some space to address immediate crises such as ensuring energy security was agreed upon.

As a democracy and growing economy facing its own challenges, India is G7's natural partner. This partnership needs to be nurtured, as does G7's engagement with other middle-income developing countries, if it is to remain relevant and be effective.