The G7 consists of the largest advanced economies namely: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

The European Union also participates in G7 Summits, although it is not a member.  

The Outreach Session aimed “to explore leadership and collaboration in driving a comprehensive approach to energy security with a focus on technology and innovation; diversification and strengthening critical mineral supply chains; and infrastructure and investment”.

The outreach theme resonated with South Africa’s national interests and priorities of South Africa's G20 Presidency.  

The Outreach Sessions of the G7 have been a feature of the Group over the years with the aim being to strengthen unity among G7 members and like-minded countries to deliberate on and address some of the world’s most pressing issues. 

President Ramaphosa described the summit as “most meaningful” particularly in the context of South Africa’s role as the G20 President.

“We’ve just concluded our visit to Canada to attend the G7 Summit. It has been most meaningful for us, particularly as we are the President of the G20. We’ve had the opportunity to interact with a number of heads of state and government of various countries,” he said.

President Ramaphosa placed climate change and its devastating effects at the centre of South Africa’s message to the G7 leaders, highlighting the destruction brought by floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, as well as the ongoing droughts in parts of the Western Cape. 

“We put that firmly on the global agenda, that there should be sufficient funding for incidents such as those, as they happen on a repeated basis, particularly in our sub region - in [the] SADC [Southern African Development Community], but more importantly, in two of our provinces, KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape [which] over the past few years have suffered repeated incidents of destruction from floods and also droughts in parts of the Western Cape,” the President explained.

On the economic front, President Ramaphosa also pushed for a shift in the global approach to Africa’s critical minerals, emphasising the need for beneficiation and inclusive value chains.

“We discussed the importance of how our critical minerals should be treated, particularly in view of the fact that they play such an important role in energy security and that the extraction of minerals from African countries and our own country, particularly, should be made more to be not only extractive, but also to have value add, where beneficiation becomes the order of the day,” he said. 

He said investors must be made aware upfront that South Africa seeks to move beyond raw exports to value-added production, in line with its long-held vision of selling finished goods rather than raw materials.

“Those who want to invest in our minerals, should know up front that we are not only looking forward to them extracting minerals, but also to value chain additions or advancements in the form of beneficiation, so that in the end, we live up to what we've been saying, that we want to sell value added products to the rest of the world,” the President stressed.

The first citizen also held bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the summit, which he described as “most beneficial” for South Africa’s diplomatic and economic engagements.

He held bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government from Canada, France, Germany and the Republic of Korea. The meetings centered on fostering greater cooperation on issues of mutual interest. 

President Ramaphosa welcomed the strengthening of cooperation between South Africa and Canada as it relates to the G20 and the G7. 

“Canada’s Africa strategy is comprehensive and there is potential for cooperation in areas where there is alignment with the African Agenda.”

Several engagements have taken place between South Africa and Canada at various levels, including at Sherpa and Ministerial levels. –