Calls for unity dominate the grim G7 summit

At the start of the G7 summit in Germany, US president Joe Biden called for unity. “Putin was counting from the beginning on NATO and the G7 to fall apart, but that has not happened and it will not happen,” Biden said during a conversation with German Chancellor Scholz. The G7 countries also announced that they will invest about 568 billion euros in infrastructure works in developing countries.

The seven most powerful and democratic countries in the world are currently in Germany for a G7 summit. This week, the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, together with representatives of the European Union, are looking for solutions to the war in Ukraine and the consequences of that war on the world economy. They are also considering whether more sanctions can be taken against Russia.

During a meeting with German Chancellor Scholz, the US president insists on the importance of unity within the G7. “We have to stick together,” Joe Biden said. “Putin was counting from the beginning on NATO and the G7 to fall apart, but that has not happened and it will not happen.”

The leaders of the G7 are on the same page when it comes to an extensive investment programme for infrastructure works in developing countries. At the initiative of the Americans, the world leaders want to free up 600 billion dollars (about 568 million euros) by 2027. A third of that money would come from the United States.

That plan is a response to the investments that China has been carrying out for a while. Through “New Silk Road” program, China has been investing in developing countries for years in order to gain access to certain raw materials.

However, Beijing is accused of carrying out its projects through loans that are not very advantageous, or even downright dangerous, which would add to the debt burden of already vulnerable countries.