G7 leaders set to meet in Japan. What’s on the agenda?

The allies will no doubt quiz U.S. President Joe Biden over how serious the risk is of a debt default by the world's biggest economy.

Leaders of seven of the world’s richest nations meet next week at the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to discuss geopolitical, economic and climate issues as the war in Ukraine drags on and tensions rise between China and the United States.

The G7 is an informal grouping of wealthy Western nations. It has no permanent secretariat or legal status. Each year, a different member country assumes the presidency of the group, sets priorities and organizes a leaders’ summit and ministerial meetings throughout the year.

Italy will take over the presidency from Japan in 2024. Russia was included in what became the G8 in 1997 but was suspended in 2014 after annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

This year’s meeting will be held from May 19-21 in Hiroshima, Japan, which in 1945 was the first city to be bombed with an atomic weapon.

The G7 comprises the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Representatives from the European Union also attend.

In recent years it has become customary to invite other nations to help bring to the fore key topics.

This year, the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Comoros for the African Union, Cook Islands for the Pacific Forum, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam are among those invited.

The G7 and other Western states are seeking to shore up alliances, reach out to the Global South and defend their shrinking influence as China and Russia make economic inroads and push an alternative to the existing international order.