The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on June 12 released the report “Bending the Architecture: Reimagining the G7 (Group of Seven economies)” that recommended adding Korea and Australia to the group. Pictured are the leaders of G7 member nations and their invitees in May last year at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. (Kim Yong Wii, Office of the President)
By Yoon Seungjin
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has urged the Group of Seven (G7) economies to add Korea and Australia to expand the group’s number of member countries to nine.
Titled “Bending the Architecture: Reimagining the G7,” the CSIS made the recommendation in a report released on June 12.
Korea and Australia are equally or better able to take G7 priorities in nine areas including economic resilience and security, food security, digital competitiveness and sustainable development, the report said.
The CSIS highlighted Korea’s economic and indirect military support to Ukraine and its crucial role in protecting supply chains for emerging technologies. Australia was noted for countering China’s economic coercion and playing a key role in supplying mineral resources.
Inclusion of Korea and Australia would “also address Europe’s overrepresentation and Asia’s severe underrepresentation in the group,” it added, saying the G7’s composition is growingly less reflective of global demographics as the European population declines and that of the Indo-Pacific region grows.
The G7 has four European member countries—Germany, the U.K., France and Italy—but just one in Asia, Japan.
scf2979@korea.kr
