World leaders from the seven largest so-called advanced economies are preparing to meet at the end of the week.

Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States will be attending the G7 (Group of Seven) summit in Cornwall, England.

India, South Korea, and Australia have been invited this year as well.

The G7 holds meetings, forms agreements and works on joint statements for global events throughout the year, but the annual summit is the main event, where leaders gather to discuss key issues.

This year, COVID-19 recovery, the economy, and climate change are key topics of discussion.

Leaders hold meetings with each other as a group, individually, and do the usual photo-ops and dinner gatherings.

At the end of the summit, the group typically signs and publishes a final document about the meeting, and their goals and objectives.

Three years ago, then U.S. President Donald Trump refused to sign a joint statement at the conclusion of a contentious summit.

While the G7 summit involves some of the most influential countries in the world, the group does not have any legal power. 

Each country has its own democratic process to follow but their decisions and teamwork, or lack thereof, can still have a global impact.

The group has been criticized for being outdated, considering two of the largest countries in the world, India and China, are not included.

This will be U.S. President Joe Biden’s first G7 summit since taking office. It will also be the first time these leaders will gather together since the pandemic started.

The 2020 G7 summit was cancelled because of COVID-19, making it the first summit-less year since the group got together in 1975.

Biden left for England on Wednesday and will meet with the G7 leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin afterwards.

His goal is to rebuild transatlantic ties in a post-Trump era. 

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