The Group of Eight or G8 is a group of industrialized countries that have great political, economic, and military importance in the world. It is made up of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia. It also has the participation of the European Community (EC).
There are no specific criteria that determine whether a country belongs to the group, since they are not the most industrialized countries; neither are they the ones with the highest per capita income or GDP. It can be said that they are some of the most developed countries and that at the same time, they have great political and economic influence worldwide.
The group was born in an informal way as a result of the meetings of the finance ministers of France and Germany. Later, they invited other heads of government to attend these meetings with them. In 1973, a group formed initially by six countries (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy and the USA), known as the Group of Six (G6).
In 1976 they were joined by Canada and in 1977 by the European Community, becoming the Group of Seven (G7). At the 1997 summit in Denver, Russian President Borís Yeltsin was present as a guest; the Russian Federation was considered a full member of this forum at the Washington summit in 1998, and the name Group of Eight or G-8 was coined.
The G8 summits are held annually, where the representatives of said countries meet to discuss current issues, in reference to political and economic management, international trade, relations with developing countries, energy and terrorism.
Also of technology, the media, the environment, crime, drugs, human rights and security. All of these with an international nature, and considering the formulation of strategies for common action to solve the problems that currently arise in the world.
They say that the G8 discussions are informal, it has no decision-making power and that by meeting they do not harm anyone. However, reality shows that the G8 has produced numerous initiatives that have sharpened the process of economic globalization.
The eight countries take turns hosting the annual summits, they do not have a venue or a formal structure. Representatives from other non-G8 countries can attend summits as observers. In 2005, very important countries in the world economy such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa were invited, the name of the group took a name of G8 + 5 or G13.
