On Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 May, Paris will host the finance ministers of the G7 countries, accompanied by the European Commissioner for Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, and a number of major international organisations for a preparatory meeting ahead of the Evian Summit next June.
Participants will discuss the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East, the state of financial support for Ukraine, the challenges of financial stability, particularly in the light of the rise of artificial intelligence, as well as climate issues, illicit financial flows and the supply of essential minerals.
“We are on the eve of an extremely important G7 Finance summit”, the French Minister for the Economy, Roland Lescure, told a small group of journalists, including Agence Europe, on Wednesday 13 May.
“I’m not going to tell you that we agree on everything, including of course first and foremost with our American friends”, he continued. “The discussions are difficult; they are essential, and our collective ability to show, over the last four months, that multilateralism can work, must work and will continue to work, is obviously essential”, stressed Mr Lescure, who on Monday will chair the seventh meeting of this type since January.
India, Brazil, South Korea and Kenya will all be attending. As a special feature of the French Presidency, these four countries will be invited to a second round of discussions on Tuesday, which will focus on the global economy and its imbalances, as well as international partnerships and the evolution of development aid, particularly through the use of private investors.
Two statements are expected at the end of the discussions.
‘No Money For Terror’. On Tuesday afternoon, the French Ministry of the Economy will also host a conference on the fight against terrorist financing attended by almost fifty countries.
“The main idea will be to maintain a multilateral dynamic, because if there is one subject on which it is not possible to make progress alone, but which, by its very nature, requires international cooperation, the exchange of information, agreement on the standards in force and effective mutual assistance in criminal matters, it is obviously the fight against money laundering”, a source in the French Ministry said on Wednesday, referring in particular to the increasingly problematic use of crypto-assets. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)