(Château d’Elmau) By inviting five emerging countries, including the Indian and South African giants, particularly exposed to the risks of a food crisis, the G7, meeting at the summit in Bavaria, seeks to broaden the front of the democracies against Moscow and Beijing .
Posted at 8:51 a.m.
The leaders of India, Argentina, Senegal, Indonesia and South Africa, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, joined the talks on Monday afternoon, at Elmau Castle, at the foot of the Bavarian Alps.
For the host of the summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, this invitation should show that the “community of democracies” is not limited to “the West and the countries of the Northern hemisphere”.
“The democracies of the future are in Asia and Africa,” said the German leader ahead of the meeting.
In a G7 dominated by Russia’s war against Ukraine, but also the climate and food crises, “dialogue with these essential countries” playing “regional leader roles” is a “good thing”, explains to AFP Thorsten Brenner, director of the think-tank Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi).
Courted countries
These countries, which obtain cereals and sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, as well as the fertilizers essential to their agriculture, are particularly exposed to the risk of food shortages.
A session devoted to food safety is thus planned for Monday at the end of the afternoon. In the morning, the G7 launched a new appeal to Moscow to ensure the “free passage” of foodstuffs coming from Ukraine.
“The G7 must make it clear that while Russia’s war, not sanctions, contributes to global food security problems, the West on its side takes responsibility for advancing food security in the countries the most vulnerable,” says Brenner.
But this invitation of countries which represent more than 1.7 billion inhabitants takes on other strategic issues, five months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The G7 is indeed seeking to tie India, Senegal and South Africa to its camp, which abstained during the vote on a UN resolution condemning the Russian attack.
These countries are also at the same time courted by Vladimir Putin, who on June 22 advocated a stronger role for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in connection with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Russia is thus in the process of “actively redirecting its trade flows and its external economic contacts towards reliable international partners, above all towards the BRICS countries”, underlined Mr. Putin, citing for example “talks on the opening of Indian chain stores in Russia”.
India in particular is seeking a difficult balance between its relations with the West and with Russia, which provides it with a large part of its arms and energy needs, against a backdrop of rivalry with Beijing.
Strong pressures
Indonesia also occupies a special place, with its presidency this year of the G20.
Indonesian Head of State Joko Widodo is due to visit Ukraine and Russia soon. It will also host a G20 summit in November to which Mr. Putin is invited.
The country has been under strong pressure from the West, led by the United States, to exclude Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
But Jakarta resisted, arguing that its position as host required it to remain “impartial”, according to Joko Widodo, who also invited Ukrainian President Mr Zelensky.
Westerners have finally made up their minds and the possible presence of the Russian president should not call into question their participation, assured Monday the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Mr. Scholz, ruling out any idea of a boycott. .
“The G20 is too important for emerging countries for us to let Putin destroy it,” said Ms.me von der Leyen.
If Western heads of state travel to Bali, it would be their first physical meeting with the Russian president since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.