SEOUL, June 14 (AJP) - Leaders of the Group of Seven and invited partner nations will gather in France this week as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the protracted war in Ukraine dominate the agenda, with President Lee Jae Myung set to attend for a second consecutive year.
The summit will take place from June 15 to 17 in the French lakeside resort town of Evian-les-Bains, bringing together leaders of the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada, alongside invited nations including South Korea, India, Brazil, Egypt and Kenya.
French officials described the gathering as one of the most consequential G7 meetings in recent years as Western allies seek to maintain unity over Ukraine while addressing the fallout from the Iran conflict and the continued disruption of maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
The summit comes at a potentially pivotal moment, with Washington expressing optimism that an Iran peace deal could be finalized as early as Sunday after months of conflict that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets.
The summit opens Sunday evening with a closed-door session involving U.S. President Donald Trump and other G7 leaders focused on the Middle East, Ukraine and global economic imbalances.
The meeting is also expected to test Western cohesion after months of disagreements between Washington and European capitals over military support and diplomatic strategy in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join G7 leaders for discussions on continued political, military and financial support for Kyiv, as well as possible frameworks for future negotiations with Moscow.
The security of the Strait of Hormuz will remain a major theme during a separate lunch meeting involving G7 leaders and Middle Eastern leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Rather than issuing a traditional joint communiqué on the crisis discussions, France plans to release chair's conclusions reflecting the outcomes of the talks.
The summit will also address online child protection, reform of development assistance, global macroeconomic imbalances and cancer research, with participating nations expected to issue separate declarations on those topics.
Artificial intelligence will feature prominently on the final day, when OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman and other technology executives join world leaders to discuss the future of AI governance, innovation and regulation.
For South Korea, attention is focused on whether Lee will hold a bilateral meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the summit.
A senior presidential official in Seoul said this week it was still "too early" to determine whether such a meeting would take place, citing the fluid nature of summit schedules and the limited time available.
If held, a Lee-Trump meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss implementation of bilateral security and trade agreements, alliance modernization and broader regional security issues.
Trump's schedule already includes bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The U.S. president will also participate in a working session with Zelensky and G7 leaders on Tuesday, although U.S. officials said no formal bilateral meeting between Trump and the Ukrainian leader is currently planned.
The White House said Trump intends to discuss artificial intelligence, immigration, energy security, innovation and trade imbalances during the summit.
Macron is scheduled to host Trump for a dinner at the Palace of Versailles following the summit to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, highlighting what French officials described as the historic friendship between France and the United States.
As conflicts in both Europe and the Middle East continue to reshape global security and economic dynamics, leaders arriving in Evian face growing pressure to demonstrate that the world's leading democracies can still coordinate a common response to international crises.
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