G7 Summit 2026 Convenes Coalition of Convergence to Tackle ‘Global Imbalances’
The 52nd G7 Summit 2026 took place in Evian, France, from 15 to 17 June 2026. The leaders’ roundtable was moved by one day to accommodate Trump’s 80th birthday, which fell on 14 June 2026. In addition to the seven G7 member states, viz, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA, French President Emmanuel Macron also invited India, Egypt, Kenya, Brazil and South Korea.
The main focus of this Summit was to address ‘global economic imbalances’, which France summarizes as ‘China’s overcapacity, USA’s overconsumerism, and EU’s underinvestment’. Nowhere is this issue more acute than in the supply chain of #CriticalMinerals and #RareEarths, which are central to future industries and the defense sector.
In that regard, the Evian Summit launched the Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance to address overdependence on China. The G7 targets to reduce the share of any non-G7 or ally country to not more than 60% by 2030. To achieve this, the Group will coordinate strategic stockpiling and combine investments in extraction, refining and recycling.
In particular, Canada promoted the Critical Minerals and Defense Push. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney aims to mobilize at least USD 5 billion to secure #CriticalMinerals. Canada spearheaded the launch of a Joint Fighter Jet Program with Italy, while deepening defense cooperation with Germany, India, and South Korea.
On the security front, Trump signed an MoU with Iran during the state banquet at Versailles. As the Iran issue appears to move toward a resolution, the EU hopes that the US will now focus on the Ukraine-Russia conflict. In particular, the EU hopes Trump would use his personal relationship with Putin to bring an end to the war.
In line with its new strategy of getting closer to Europe, the UK pursued its sustained engagement with the EU. UK PM Keir Starmer and EC President Ursula von der Leyen had a bilateral and announced an EU-UK Summit for 22 July 2026.
In light of the outbreak of the Ebola virus, the G7 committed over USD one billion to respond to this emerging health risk. Afther the launch of the G7 Cancer Initiative in 2023, this Summit reiterated its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer, improve screening, and foster collaboration among health institutions in this area.
France endorsed ‘incremental reforms’ to the International Financial Architecture, in response to repeated calls from the #GlobalSouth in that direction. Thus, the G7 agreed to intensify efforts in addressing debt vulnerabilities in both developing and middle-income countries. Concurrently, the G7 advocates the use of #BlendedFinance to wisely allocate smaller portions of public funds to attract larger portions of private investment in order to reduce risks and ensure bankability.
AI was also on the agenda, with representatives from the #GlobalSouth emphasizing that technological development and AI governance must not leave any country behind. The Summit proposed an OECD-hosted AI Training Hub to reskilling and upskilling people to use the technology effectively.