A U.S. think tank has suggested that South Korea and Australia be included in the Group of Seven (G7), an advanced nations group, to address the challenges facing the international community today.
On the 12th (local time), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report titled "Bending" the Architecture - Reimagining the G7, proposing measures to strengthen the G7. The report stated, "South Korea and Australia provide significant capabilities across the G7's nine priorities" and recommended "including them as G7 members." The G7 is a group of advanced countries consisting of seven nations: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan, along with the European Union (EU).
First, CSIS pointed out the need to reform traditional governance institutions such as the G7 and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which have recently failed to fulfill their roles amid today's global turmoil. Although the scope of issues the G7 must address has expanded, its representativeness in terms of the global economy and population has declined, making reforms to enhance the G7's capabilities and legitimacy an inevitable necessity.
Accordingly, as part of G7 reforms, CSIS recommended including South Korea and Australia?key countries in the Indo-Pacific region?as members. CSIS identified nine priority areas for the G7: ▲ Indo-Pacific ▲ economic resilience and security ▲ food security ▲ digital competitiveness ▲ climate ▲ Ukraine ▲ sustainable development ▲ arms control and non-proliferation ▲ labor. It assessed that South Korea and Australia possess capabilities equal to or better than existing G7 members in these areas.
Furthermore, CSIS emphasized that South Korea and Australia have already demonstrated the trust required of G7 members as partners sharing similar positions with the G7. A representative basis for this is that Australia has fought on the side of the democracy-based international order in all major wars since World War I, and South Korea has done so since the Korean War.
CSIS diagnosed that "(including South Korea and Australia in the G7) can resolve the issue of Europe being overrepresented and Asia underrepresented in the membership composition." Additionally, it suggested considering consolidating the European Parliament and the European Commission, which currently hold two seats, into one seat as part of this effort.
Alongside this, CSIS proposed that other high-performing countries could also be recognized as G7 dialogue partners or associate members. Moreover, to demonstrate the G7's inclusiveness and secure legitimacy as a global governance institution, it recommended establishing official leader-level exchange mechanisms with the African Union, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, and others.
The report was authored with the participation of John Hamre, chairman of CSIS, and Victor Cha, CSIS Korea Chair.
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