The Think Thank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries. Its objective is to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency.
In 2019, the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) held the T7 Presidency and organized its summit on June 5 in Paris. In addition to the Think Tanks of the seven countries, IFRI invited African and European Think Tanks at the summit.
Three topics were mainly discussed: international trade, development, but also multilateralism and defense of democracies.
It dealt with the theme : "Inequalities and vulnerabilities: what are the connections, the bonds between these two concepts? How should the G7 countries’ development policies be aligned?"
To what extent development policies led by G7 members can foster the reduction of inequalities between countries and address the roots of inequality between individuals?
Understanding the unequal opportunities between countries implies to take into account their vulnerabilities. This is especially the case for the Sahel region that faces a lot of challenges, with its future at stake: the demographic booming, the adaptation to extreme weather conditions and to the climate change, the social issues (lack of access to education and health, food insecurity) or the lack of economic opportunities especially among the youth. The Sahel States are often struggling to provide sufficient answers to these long-term challenges due to the accumulation of vulnerabilities.
Therefore, it seems crucial for G7 donors and partners to help them to deal with these vulnerabilities. But what are the political goals and the motivations of the G7 members regarding these issues? Are the G7 members coordinated to tackle these problems? What are their concrete behaviors on the spot? These many questions deserve to be asked.
Inequalities within a country are primarily to be addressed on a national scale through redistributive policies, which can be bolstered by development cooperation and the provision of technical support. Nevertheless, the bonds between cooperation policies and the struggle against inequalities within a country are still ambiguous. How can we define precisely the connection between these two concepts?
