The summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations kicked off yesterday in the southern French city of Biarritz, amid deep disagreements among the leaders of the group on a number of major global issues, most notably the agreement on Iran's nuclear program, the US-China trade war and Russia's return to the group.
In detail, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations opened the summit, which world public opinion is watching with great attention, anticipating practical solutions to the crises that are shaking the world, notably the trade war, Iran and the Amazon fires.
The leaders of the Club of the world's largest liberal democracies have arrived one by one in southwest France, most recently US President Donald Trump, whose presidential Air Force One landed in Bordeaux.
Alongside Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italian Giuseppe Conti, Japanese Shinzo Abe and Canadian Justin Trudeau opened the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at an informal dinner at the Atlantic Lighthouse.
The seven leaders will discuss, at the last minute, a subject that is the Amazon jungle fires.
The French presidency announced that "practical initiatives" to fight fires "could crystallize" during the summit, calling for making this "international crisis" a priority for the summit.
The debate could be sensitive after Macron accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of "lying" about his climate pledges and of "inaction" in the face of the fires that have been devastating since the days of the Earth's Lung. For its part, Berlin expressed reservations, after Paris announced that it would block a draft trade agreement between the South American Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union, an issue that will be addressed by Macron and Merkel in a bilateral meeting.
But European Council President Donald Tusk, based in Biarritz, cautioned that it was "hard to imagine" that the EU would ratify a similar agreement, as long as Brazil "allows the destruction" of the Amazon.
The French president called on the parties to avoid a trade war.
Macron, in a televised address shortly before the summit, said trade tensions were "bad for everyone." Macron expressed support for the recovery of the weak economic situation, particularly in Europe.
The French president had stressed during a working meeting yesterday with the US president, that not allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons is a common goal between the two countries.
Along with major issues, the summit will discuss issues related to climate change, security, peace, counter-terrorism, countering the phenomenon of foreign fighters, media and rumors, revitalizing global partnership for education, digital technology and artificial intelligence, human development, equality and economic challenges, and strong relations with Africa.
Issues of the global economy, the US-China trade war, and the Brexit dossier will be firmly on the table. The Iranian nuclear deal will be the main point of contention between the US president and the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the five other leaders.
Observers expect that the atmosphere of the summit from its opening until its final statement tomorrow afternoon will be convulsive and charged.
The trade war between the United States and China will also be the main issues at the summit.
Russia's return to the group will also be one of the most important issues at the summit, amid European opposition to the Crimean question and the war in eastern Ukraine. The G7, formerly known as the G8, before Russia was excluded in 2014, includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, Britain and France, along with Canada. Egypt, the head of the African Union, is participating for the first time in preparatory meetings for the summit, following an official invitation received by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, last month.