Germany: World leaders discuss Africa during G7 outreach meeting

The leaders of the G7 met with the heads of state and government of several African countries, as well as the Iraqi prime minister and the heads of a number of international organisations, for the G7 outreach meeting at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Monday. The G7 outreach meeting is aimed at providing support for reforms, security and development in Africa. The heads of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OSCE), the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations (UN) and the Commission of the African Union met with the G7 leaders alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The heads of state and government of all G7 nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA - were already in Bavaria for the two-day G7 summit. This year's gathering is estimated to cost just over €130 million ($144 million) according to official figures; while the German Taxpayers Federation believes it may cost the German state close to €360 million ($400 million). The G7, formerly known as the G8, excluded Russia from the group of industrialised democracies in March 2014, citing its reunification with Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine as the principle reasons.