Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in our region, joining his G7 counterparts today for a meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, O.N. The condensed summit is to discuss strategy on key global issues.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the gathering of her G7 counterparts will deal with issues that transcend the group and it’s absolutely vital to have diverse geographic representation around the table.
The G7, or Group of Seven, is an international consortium made up of the world's most industrialized democracies. They tackle major global issues.
On the table are issues including security, the global economy, economic resilience, energy security and global hot spots around the world where there is conflict — including Ukraine — and putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, to stop that war.
John Kirton is the director of the G7 Research Group. He said he does expect significant progress from the meeting, which heads into a second and final day on Wednesday.
"I think we’ll see a significant move forward on the toughest one of all, unleashing the $140 billion that’s just sitting there over in Brussels, impounded, frozen Russian assets so we can give that money to Ukraine," said Kirton. "Another event I think we’ll see is further credible action and promises to have Europe and Japan stop financing Putin’s war machine by buying his oil and gas."
The main talks of the summit will begin today, with a closing news conference set for this afternoon.
Canada’s Anita Anand is also holding bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. She is to meet with the foreign ministers of Japan, France, Brazil, India and Germany. Those get togethers will focus on energy transitions, critical mineral development, technological innovation, maritime security and defending democracy and international law.
Anand will also meet with Rubio, with his office saying he is coming to Canada with plans to advance US interests.
“We’re tackling a range of critical issues with one main focus: putting the safety and security of Americans FIRST,” Rubio said in a social media post.
