The 34th G8 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States) summit concluded at Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan, just like last year and the one before that. As per The Economist, “They came, they jawed, they failed to conquer”. Yasuo Fukuda, Japan’s prime minister was a perfect host and an efficient organizer. The summit was held from July 7, 2008 through July 9, 2008.
The idea of a group of major industrialized democracies emerged during the 1973 oil crisis, followed by a global recession. In 1975, French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing invited the heads of 5 other major democracies to form the Group of Six (G6). These original 6 members were, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and West Germany. Canada joined the group in 1976 at the invitation of German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and US President Gerald Ford. The ‘Group of Seven’ or G7 was born under a rotating presidency.
Since 1977, the President of the European Union has attended all the meetings as an observer. The G7 remained a Western Group, with the exception of Japan, which is primarily considered a protectorate of America by the rest of the world. This group provided a monetary stability to the stock markets and financial institutions around the world for the next 15 years. Everything changed with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the succession of an independent state of Russia. British Prime Minister, Tony Blair and US President, Bill Clinton invited Russia to formally join the group in 1997. Initially the arrangement was called G7+1 but eventually the Group of Eight was recognized. That ended the idea of any consensus.
Since 1991, countries like Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa have been growing at a much faster clip compared to the original Group of Seven industrialized nations. President Clinton, and his colleagues in the G8, neither saw nor found the time to engage these countries in the changing world. India decided to explode a nuclear device on May 11, 1998 and the Group of Eight heard the sound. Bill Clinton was furious but then found time to pay a visit to the largest democracy in the world in March, 2000. Finally, it was US President, George W Bush who invited the five emerging economies to the party of G8 in June 2003.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Soviet Union, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, European Union, Russia, Group of Eight, G8, The 34th G8 Summit, Toyako Hokkaido Japan, The Economist, Yasuo Fukuda, Japan's Prime Minister, July 7th 2008, July 9, 2008, 1973 Oil Crisis, French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Group of Six, G6, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, US President Gerald Ford, Group of Seven, G7, Western Group, Protectorate of America, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, US President Bill Clinton, G7+1, President Clinton, Nuclear Device, May 11th 1998
