![]() And the few rich eventually agreed to waive vaccine patent after nearly two years of haggling. The 1 billion vaccine doses later committed by the G7 leaders for low and low- to middle-income countries over 2022 still fell far short of the 11 billion vaccine doses needed, said the World Health Organization and campaigners. At the height of the pandemic, G7 nations were estimated to have stockpiled 1 billion spare vaccine doses by the end of 2021. The seven-member club's response to COVID-19 particularly calls into the question of the G7's competence and seriousness to steer the world. Since then, the more representative grouping making up around 80 percent of the world GDP is considered as an alternative to the G7. Right after the fall of Lehman Brothers that signaled the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20 met in Washington and came up with a plan. On economy, the antiquated old money resorted to help from emerging economies to bail them out. Although discussion sprawled more meetings at various levels, apart from an ever-rising budget for summit preparation, the conferences seem to become more ritualistic than substantive, as they seldom put forward useful resolutions for urgent issues the world is facing. ![]() Unlike the time when the G7 was founded in 1970s to restore the world economic order, this group began to incorporate more international issues like counter-terrorism, arms control, climate change and so on from the 1980s onward. But people will ask the same old question, will the G7 deliver anything that will help with the global governance? An anodyne communique will normally come out at the end of this annual show, judging other countries to the G7's own likes, with a few touches here and there to conceal some visible fracture in this group. Like all the previous ones, Hiroshima is sure to see plenty of ceremonial events and grandiose banquets, alongside of which overflow enough of empty talks and aimless discussions. Their wealth and non-communist ideology gave the countries a sense of superiority, which lasts till this day, and a sense of responsibility, which fades as time goes by. Indeed, almost 40 years back, their GDP accounted for nearly 70 percent of the world total. The short but strong title is reminiscent of the past glory of these seven industrial countries. This is a rather small "family" though, with only seven members - the Group of Seven, or the G7, an exclusive club with lifetime membership for the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. In the next few days, hotels and restaurants in Hiroshima, Japan, must be busy stocking as much champagne and caviar as possible, to cater some important guests who will come to this town for a yearly "family reunion."
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