G-7 Leaders' Declaration to Include Initiative for World Economy

Tokyo, May 19 (Jiji Press)--Leaders of the Group of Seven major countries will launch an initiative aimed at leading global economic growth in a declaration due out after their two-day gathering next week, Japanese officials said Thursday. At a time when uncertainties are mounting over the world economy, the G-7 leaders will emphasize their determination to ensure stable growth in the declaration that they will adopt at the Ise-Shima summit in central Japan from May 26, according to the officials. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the seventh and the final session of a government team set up to hear opinions of economic experts in and outside Japan in preparation for the G-7 summit. "I want to have discussions with world leaders so that we can realize sustainable and powerful growth of the global economy," Abe told the session. "As the G-7 chair, our country needs to fulfill responsibility." By highlighting the G-7 leadership in global economic affairs, Abe aims to shore up the presence of the forum that has been eroded amid a rise of the Group of 20, which also includes emerging economies like China. The planned initiative is seen calling for cooperation among the G-7 members--Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union--in fiscal measures, monetary policies and structural reforms. But the wording of the initiative is still being adjusted because the G-7 members are not in full agreement over fiscal measures and currency policies, according to the Japanese officials. As attachments to the declaration, the G-7 leaders will release documents in the fields of counterterrorism, anticorruption, infrastructure investment, health and sanitation, women, and cybersecurity, the officials also said. END