G7 summit, 2021

In news- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the Outreach Sessions of the G7 Summit in virtual format.

Agenda of G-7 summit, 2021-

The UK currently holds the presidency of the G7 and invited India, along with Australia, Republic of Korea and South Africa, as guest countries for the Summit.
The meetings will be held in hybrid mode.
The theme for the summit is ‘Build Back Better’.
The four priority areas outlined for the UK’s presidency are-
leading the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics;
promoting future prosperity by championing free and fair trade;
tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity;
championing shared values and open societies;
Since 2014, this is the second time PM Modi will be participating in a G7 meeting.
India had been invited by the G7 French Presidency in 2019 to the Biarritz Summit as a “Goodwill Partner” and the Prime Minister participated in the Sessions on ‘Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans’ and ‘Digital Transformation’.

About G7-

G7 stands for “Group of Seven” industrialized nations.
It used to be known as the G8 (Group of Eight) until 2014 when Russia was excluded because of its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany formed the Group of Six in 1975 so that the noncommunist powers could come together to discuss important economic issues, global security etc…
Canada joined the group in 1976.
Russia joined in 1998 and signaled a cooperation between East and West after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.
At present, the group includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Japan, France and Italy.
The G7 is an informal bloc and takes no mandatory decisions, so the leaders’ declarations at the end of the summit are not binding.
The European Union has been involved in G7 work since 1977, and is represented at the summit by the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council.
The member country holding the G7 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year’s summit and generally every member country hosts the summit once every 7 years.