Group of Eight

   / G8

   Originally the Group of Seven, or G7, the forum brings together the most economically important nations of the Northern Hemisphere: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States. Each year, the group holds a presidential summit in addition to regular meetings of the countries’ finance ministers. Catalyzed by the 1973 oil embargo on Western countries supportive of Israel, the G7 formed to discuss financial policy. Over time, the issues covered were expanded to include health care, law enforcement, energy, terrorism, trade, and the environment. The association is informal in nature, and agreements are nonbinding. After three years of close collaboration with Boris Yeltsin’s government, the G7 formally admitted the Russian Federation in 1997 at the behest of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton. In recent years, the group has been moving toward a more inclusive model, recognizing the importance of countries such as China, India, South Africa, and Brazil.

   See also BRIC.