The US G20 presidency is underway against a volatile geopolitical backdrop, with priorities and deliverables still being negotiated through to the end of the year. France’s G7 Summit follows shortly after the GSS, with a focus on engaging emerging economies and positioning the G7 as a bridge across divides. The UK will assume the G20 next, and is expected to carry forward elements of both processes while navigating a more fragmented landscape.

These processes are not sequential. They overlap, operate under political constraints, and remain only loosely connected. Continuity and impact will depend less on formal handovers and more on whether alignment is built early, while agendas are still fluid.

This is not a moment for further diagnosis – the constraints are clear. The question is, where is there still leverage? Which elements of the US G20 agenda still offer entry points for global cooperation? Where can France extend rather than reset? How can the next G20 cycles carry these forward.

GSI convenes this by invitation exchange to bring together those shaping these agendas before positions harden. Leading think tanks, civil society and philanthropies help define the space for action, but often too late in the cycle. This session creates an off-the-record setting to coordinate earlier, with a clearer view of where joint action can still have impact.