G7 Summit: Are global economic blocks G7 and BRICS rivals or necessary partners? WION Decodes

The G7 (Group of Seven) summit is going to be held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains next week (June 15-17). The intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus the European Union - a non-enumerated member - will meet to coordinate global policies on macroeconomics, security, and technology.

Unlike other formal organisations, the G7 does not have a permanent secretariat or physical headquarters and the leadership rotates annually among the member states. The political agenda of the summit is decided by the host nation.

The G7 members that comprise of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have a collective GDP that is the highest total among global economic groups.

The group's focus is largely on areas related to trade, security, economics, and climate change.

Established in the wake of 1973 energy crisis, G7 has become a more formal, prominent venue to address major global issues and not just financial challenges. It plays an important role in upholding freedom, democracy and human rights in the international arena.

The member states are not the only participants in the summit but also States and International Organizations invited by the Presidency.

To widen participation and integrate diverse perspectives into its decision-making process, the G7 has established civil society’s Engagement Groups that bring together representatives from various sectors like research, science and culture.

The G7 has over the years continued to expand and address a wide array of global issues.

The BRICS coalition and its agenda

Another global forum that has grown in strength over the years is the BRICS that currently comprises eleven full member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia.

It represents about 55% of the global population (led by China and India), while G7 nations account for only about 10% of the world's population.

BRICS economies are growing significantly faster, with an average growth rate projected around 3-4 percent compared to 1 to 1.7 percent of the G7 economies that are advancing at a slower rate.

But the collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of G7 countries is the highest among global economic groups.

BRICS' main agenda is to increase Global South influence in international governance and foster economic cooperation. The group dominates in population, resource production, and raw economic growth, while G7 is focused on nominal wealth, advanced technology, and post-WWII financial alignment.

And though G7 dominates global financial markets, high-tech research and development, BRICS countries like Russia, Iran and UAE have a vast share of the world's natural resources, particularly energy.

BRICS members are actively working to challenge Western financial hegemony by trying to develop alternative payment systems to bypass US dollar dominance.

However, both, G7 and BRICS posses immense global influence as they represent significant portions of the world's economy and population.