According to the Egyptian presidency, El-Sisi’s participation in this summit marks Egypt's second attendance at a G7 summit, the first being at the 45th summit in the French city of Biarritz in 2019, when Egypt was the president of the African Union (AU).
During the summit, President El-Sisi is scheduled to hold talks with participating world leaders, particularly US President Donald Trump.
Egypt’s participation reflects Cairo’s distinguished relations with the G7 member nations and its pivotal role in advancing development and stability in the Middle East.
Global attendees
The leaders and heads of government of the G7 member states -- the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan -- are expected to attend the group's 52nd summit.
Other leaders from partner countries have also been invited. The summit extended invitations to the leaders of Egypt, India (the current BRICS chair), Kenya (co-chair of the France-Africa Summit), Brazil (president of the COP30), and South Korea.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva, and President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga will also participate in the 52nd edition of the summit.
In addition, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will also attend the summit, along with heads of several prominent global and regional organizations.
Key discussions
The G7 summits generally focus on the most prominent global economic issues. However, the increasing complexity of global crises has pushed the group’s agenda to expand discussions to include major political, security, and geopolitical issues.
The 52nd summit comes at a time of unprecedented global challenges, including worsening imbalances in the global financial structure and macroeconomy, rising sovereign debt, growing levels of food insecurity, and the escalating impacts of climate change.
This edition will also address a host of key issues, including boosting global economic growth, exploring avenues to resolve international geopolitical crises, such as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and mitigating the repercussions of conflicts on trade, energy, and supply chains.
Discussions will also focus on accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), formulating a new development framework by shifting from the traditional approach of “development aid” to the concept of “international partnerships and solidarity,” and advancing international cooperation in digitization and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
G7 emergence
The group was originally established in 1975 following turmoil in the global economy caused by the oil supply crisis in the 1970s.
It also aims to foster coordination on economic and financial policies and discussions of international issues of common interest.
It was founded as an informal grouping of six of the world’s largest advanced economies: the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, with Canada joining in 1976.
In 1998, Russia joined, turning it into the G8. However, following the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia’s membership was suspended.
The European Union (EU) has participated in the group’s work since 1981, represented by the head of the European Commission.
In 2009, the head of the European Council also became a key participant.
The group’s presidency rotates annually among member states. The 52nd edition will witness the transition of the group’s presidency from France to the US.
The G7 countries account for over 40 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 30 percent of the world economy, while the population of the group’s member states represents just over 10 percent of the world's population.
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