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G7 foreign ministers meet in Paris, 9 and 10 November: Ukraine, Iran, energy and AI
France, which holds the 2026 G7 presidency, hosts the group's foreign ministers in Paris on 9 and 10 November. The agenda covers Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, Sudan, Haiti, port security, humanitarian supply chains and AI safety. No joint statement had been published when this was written.
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The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven meet in Paris on 9 and 10 November 2026, under the French presidency, with Ukraine, the Middle East, energy supply and artificial intelligence among the items on the agenda. It is the second formal two-day meeting of the year, after the one at Vaux-de-Cernay in March, and France says it wants to "produce tangible results". The French foreign ministry's summary of its priorities does not mention a joint statement, and none had been published when this was written, so the meeting's outcome is not yet known.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is travelling to France from 8 to 10 November, and the State Department's schedule for 9 November lists a session of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting on advanced AI. Ahead of the meeting, reports quoted Mr Rubio as saying that talks with Iran had made no progress and that Tehran's demands were unacceptable. This article describes the agenda as the host published it.
The agenda France set
France calls its 2026 presidency a "presidency of balance, convergence and results". The foreign ministry groups the meeting's business into four blocks.
| Block | What is on the table |
|---|---|
| Crises and major challenges | Support for Ukraine in capacity, finance and energy; stabilising the Middle East; diversifying and securing energy supplies; Sudan and the Horn of Africa; Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti; a free and open Indo-Pacific |
| Maritime and port security | Strengthening port security against drug trafficking, with the first meeting of the G7+ Ports Network |
| Humanitarian support | Streamlining humanitarian supply chains, food security and nutrition |
| AI safety | Building on G7 work from the Evian summit in June 2026 and the UN Security Council in September 2026 to protect innovation while making AI safe |
The stated aim of the first block is to build a convergence of views among partners and a coordinated response to crises. The ministry does not say which positions the ministers are expected to agree on.
France invited five partner countries: Brazil, Egypt, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. The executive director of the World Food Programme, Luke Lindberg, is attending the humanitarian session. The G7+ Ports Network, which is new, holds its first meeting in Marseille during the same days.
On 9 November a donor conference is being held in Paris, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Ukrainian authorities, to raise money for the restoration of the Chernobyl containment arch, which was damaged by a Russian strike in 2025. France has also pointed to earlier work under its presidency: a mapping of humanitarian stocks worldwide, the "No Money For Terror" conference in Paris in May 2026, and a regional security conference for the Caribbean in Martinique in July.
The calendar of the week
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 to 10 November | US Secretary of State travels to France |
| 9 November | Chernobyl arch donor conference in Paris; G7 ministers' sessions begin, including one on advanced AI |
| 9 and 10 November | G7 foreign ministers meet in Paris; G7+ Ports Network meets in Marseille |
| 10 and 11 November | US-mediated Ukraine talks reported in Abu Dhabi |
The G7's members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union takes part. The French foreign ministry says the meeting follows work done at the leaders' summit at Evian in June 2026, where AI safety was already on the table. The State Department's public schedule for 9 November lists a session of the foreign ministers' meeting titled Super Intelligence, which suggests that the AI discussion goes beyond the safety rules the French text describes.
What to watch for, and what has not been published
The meeting falls in a busy week for the two crises at the top of the agenda. United States-mediated talks on ending the war in Ukraine were reported as set for Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, with the Kremlin saying the format would be three-way and exclude European officials. On Iran, reports describe indirect talks through Qatar as stalled.
Several things will show whether the Paris meeting produces anything concrete. The first is whether the ministers issue a joint statement, and how specific it is on Ukraine, where the ministry's text speaks of support in capacity, finance and energy. The second is whether the Middle East section names Iran and the shipping risks that have affected energy supply this year. The third is whether the guests, especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Brazil, are mentioned in any outcome document.
The French foreign ministry and the other G7 governments publish their own readouts after such meetings, and they often differ in emphasis. Until they appear, the agenda above is the only confirmed account of what the ministers set out to discuss.
Sources
About the Author
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Subhash Gupta
Desk Editor
Subhash Gupta is a writer at Wirony, contributing articles that are reviewed and verified by the editorial team before publication. The publication prioritises accuracy, editorial…
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