Group of Eight

; : Prime Minister Stephen Harper ; : President Nicolas Sarkozy ; : Chancellor Angela Merkel ; : Prime Minister Romano Prodi ; : Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda President of the G8 for 2008 ; : President Vladimir Putin ; : Prime Minister Gordon Brown ; : President George W. Bush ; Also represented ; : President José Manuel Barroso : President Janez Janša : President of the European Council : President of the European Commission : President of the European Parliament ; Director of the International Monetary Fund -->

The Group of Eight (G8) also known as Group of Seven and Russia, is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, these countries represent about 65% of the world economy and the majority of global military power (7 of the top 8 positions for military expenditure , and almost all of the world's active nuclear weapons. ) The G8 can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers or G8 environment ministers. The European Union is also represented at the meetings by the president of the European Commission and the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have manifested its will to expand the group and include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.