Madeline Koch: The Program for the G7 Leaders at the Ise-Shima Summit

Analytical Studies > Analysis on the 2016 Ise-Shima Summit
G8 Summits > 2016 Ise-Shima Summit

The Program for the G7 Leaders at the Ise-Shima Summit

Madeline Koch, G7 Research Group
May 25, 2016

Over the two days of the Ise-Shima Summit, G7 leaders will hold seven sessions that will cover a full agenda.

On the morning of May 26, the leaders will be officially welcomed by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Then the leaders will visit the shrine at Ise Jingu, where there will be a tree-planting ceremony. Lunch will follow, over which they will hold their first working session. After lunch, there will be a side event with a presentation on automated vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. The traditional family photo will also be taken.

There will be a third event in the late afternoon, followed by cocktails hosted by Prime Minister and Mrs. Akie Abe — at which the leaders will be joined by their partners. There will then be more side events on anti-terrorism and the conservation of cultural properties. The fourth working session will take place over dinner.

The second day of the summit, May 27, will begin with Prime Minister Abe officially welcoming the outreach partners. The outreach program includes two sessions, with a photo taken in between. The final session will be held over working lunch. At the end of the summit, Prime Minister Abe will hold a press conference.

On May 28, after the summit meeting, there will be several bilateral meetings with the outreach partners in Nagoya.

The agenda for each session is described below.

May 26:
Session 1: G7 values, unity and global economy (working lunch)
Session 2: Trade
Session 3: Foreign policy
Session 4: Foreign policy continued (working dinner)

May 27:
Session 5: Climate change and energy
Session 6: Outreach with Asia
Session 7: Outreach with Africa (working lunch)

At the first session, the G7 leaders will represents values of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights. Japan will show the best path forward to meet the global challenges to the fundamental values shared by the G7 members, namely freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights. On the economy, the leaders' discussions will include quality infrastructure investment and women's empowerment. Cyberspace is essential to economic growth and prosperity, so the leaders will discuss promoting the rule of law in cyberspace and the digital economy for the free flow of information. They also will announce an action plan to fight corruption.

At the second session, the leaders will send a strong message on the importance of free trade and fight against protectionism. They will discuss reinforcing multilateral trade agreements and free trade.

At the third and fourth sessions on foreign policy, the leaders will discuss terrorism and violent extremism, refugee issues and the situation in the Middle East, building on the discussions of their foreign ministers at Hiroshima in April. They are expected to issue an action plan on countering terrorism and violent extremism.

They will also discuss maritime security. The leaders will confirm the importance of the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. They will discuss North Korea as well as Russia and Ukraine. G7 solidarity in this regard can be expected.

At the fifth session, the leaders will discuss climate change and energy. Following the Paris Agreement of last December, the G7 will lead the efforts of the international community in addressing the challenge of climate change. They will also discuss the role in energy in climate change, especially in the current context of declining oil prices and political instability.

At the first outreach session, stability, prosperity, and the future and challenge of Asia will be discussed with the G7's six Asian partners: Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh; Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia; Thongloun Sisoulith, prime minister of Laos; Peter O'Neill, prime minister of Papua New Guinea; Maithripala Sirisena, president of Sri Lanka; and Nguyen Xuan Phuc, prime minister of Vietnam. Asia continues to lead growth and offers opportunities for quality infrastructure investment.

At the second outreach session, the main topic will be development, with the African outreach partner Idriss Deby Into, president of Chad, representing the African Union Commission. The other outreach partners are Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations; Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Jim Young Kim, president of the World Bank; Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; and Takehiko Nakao, president of the Asian Development Bank. G7 leaders will discuss their efforts to take the leadership in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, as Ise-Shima is the first summit since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in September 2015. This year Japan is co-hosting the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which it does every five years. For the first time in history, TICAD is being cohosted and held in Africa, in Kenya. The G7 discussions on development in particular and African development are thus very significant.

In the context of development, the G7 will also refer to health and the issue of women. Health discussions will include efforts to fight infectious diseases, especially given the legacy of the 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, which led to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

On women, the G7 will discuss measures to promote the active role of women, recognizing their role in economic growth and peace.

The partners of three G7 leaders will participate in a parallel program. Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Malgorzata Tusk, wife of European Council president Donald Tusk, and Joachim Sauer, husband of German chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the Ise Jingu shrine on May 26, followed by lunch hosted by Mrs. Abe with dishes prepared by Japanese high school students who won a culinary competition. In the afternoon they visit Mikimoto Pearl Island and participate in a tree-planting ceremony before attending the cocktail reception with the leaders. Mrs. Abe will host an official dinner for the partners.

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