G7 summit is a rubicon-crossing moment for Kenyatta

From left: Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo during the G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily, on May 27, 2017. The G7 convened against the backdrop of surging populism. PHOTO | STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Kenyatta met with Donald Trump, held bilateral talks with Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni and other leaders.
  • The summit called on member states to ratchet up pressure on technology companies to block extremist content online

One of the highlights of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency is his landmark invitation to the 43rd summit of the Group of Seven (G7) held from May 26–27, 2017, in Taormina, Italy.

He becomes the first Kenyan leader to be invited to the informal club, which meets annually since 1975 to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.

Coming less than 90 days to the August 8 elections, the G7 rendezvous is a great boost to Kenyatta’s stature.

AFRICA INVOLVED
Africa cannot ignore the G7 club. Its members – the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada – account for 46 per cent of the world economy, represent more than 64 per cent of net global wealth, and slightly over 30 per cent of purchasing power globally.

In the same vein, G7 member states cannot ignore Africa.

Organisers of G7 summits have always focused on Africa and invited its leaders.

But the 2017 summit is different. It heralds a major policy shift from what former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described as “a scar on the conscience of the world” to what has been hailed as a rising continent.

BILATERAL TALKS
As part of foursome African invitees – including Hailemariam Desalegn (Ethiopia), Muhammad Buhari (Nigeria) and Beji Caid Essebsi (Tunisia) – Kenyatta addressed the G7 on what should be done to encourage investment and harness innovation as a factor of economic growth and development in Africa’s moment of digital takeoff.

Kenya’s presence in the G7 summit highlights the country’s long walk from the days of “choices have consequences” and threats of “limited diplomatic contacts” in 2013 to the top table of decision-making on the global stage.

Kenyatta met with Donald Trump, held bilateral talks with Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni and other leaders.

POVERTY
Kenya used its appearance at the G7 summit to project its new economic status as the biggest and most advanced economy in East and Central Africa growing steadily at an annual rate of 5.5 per cent.

However, it still faces serious challenges of reducing poverty and sharing the dividends of its technology-led development.

The theme of this year’s summit, “Building the foundations of renewed trust”, is apt in view of the myriad global challenges.

Four days to the summit, 22 people, including children, were killed in a bomb attack in Manchester in northern England while Kenya lost eight security officers to terrorists.

TERROR ATTACKS
Kenyatta highlighted terrorism as a mortal threat to humanity and its impact on the economies of the region, arguing that travel advisories only embolden terrorists.

Heeding the message of British Prime Minister Theresa May, the summit called on member states to ratchet up pressure on technology companies to block extremist content online as the fight against terrorism moves from the “battlefield to the internet”. 

Still on security, the summit focused on the problem of climate change, responsible for the protracted drought that has hit the Sahel and the Horn of Africa in 2016/2017.

Further, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, drew attention to the threat posed by North Korea, describing it as “a grave threat not only to East Asia but also to the world”.

IMMIGRANTS
Migrations from Africa and elsewhere are feeding the embers of right-wing populism.

Italy, which received more than 180,000 arrivals last year, urged the G7 partners to commit to the stabilisation of Libya from where most refugees originate.

The G7 convened against the backdrop of surging populism, protectionism and the return of the geopolitics of the Cold War era.

The club has witnessed the entry of new faces some with a populist hew.

As a result, the G7 has increasingly become a divided house.

TRUMP ATTACKS NATO
The election of Donald Trump on an “America First” platform is testing to the limits the trans-Atlantic solidarity plank on which the G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) rest.

During the summit, Trump’s protectionist and climate-sceptic stance put him at odds with some of the other leaders. Trump challenged G7 unity at three levels.

Ahead of the summit, Trump blasted Nato allies for spending too little on defence, calling on them to “contribute their fair share” in the financing of security.

Further, he described Germany’s trade surplus as “very bad” in a meeting with EU officials.

CLIMATE DEAL
America’s Nato allies were shocked that Trump failed to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

The G7 was also split on climate deal, which German leaders described as “controversial”.

Although all other G7 summit members confirmed their total agreement on the landmark Paris climate deal of 2015 on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Washington’s officials remained non-committal.

During his campaigns, Trump dismissed climate change as a “hoax”.

CRIMEA ANNEXED
The third area is Russia. Although Russia formally joined the G7 club in 1998, it was kicked out in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea, signalling the return of the geopolitics of the Cold War era.

America’s allies in the G7 club were particularly disappointed that Trump did not touch on Russia.

Notably, the G7 summit took place as US intelligence agencies charged that Russia intervened in the US elections to help Trump, and are investigating his campaign’s contacts with Russian officials.

However, although he has not as yet been able to deliver on his campaign promise to get close to Moscow, America under Trump is seemingly Russia’s strongest ally in the G7 club.

G-20 NATIONS
The G7 club’s global hegemony is waning.

The rise of new economic powerhouses in the traditional global South is tilting the balance of economic power towards countries like China.

Driving innovation in Africa is the Chinese investment in commodities, infrastructure and industrialisation buoyed by billions of Chinese dollars.

Because the G7 no longer represents the world’s leading economies, it is increasingly losing ground to a broader club, the Group of 20 (G20), established in 1999.

This new club comprises emerging powers like China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, South Africa and Turkey.

Despite this, and in significant ways, Kenya’s invitation to the G7 Summit was a Rubicon-crossing moment for Kenyatta.

Prof Kagwanja is the Chief Executive of Africa Policy Institute and former Government Adviser.