World leaders sing 'Happy Birthday' for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at G7 summit (WATCH)
By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Jun 15, 2024, 10:34 AM ISTThe G7 leaders engaged in an unexpected moment of camaraderie as they kicked off talks in southern Italy, with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This light-hearted gesture preceded a day of serious talks on global challenges.
At the G7 Summit in Italy on Friday, world leaders came together to sing "Happy Birthday" in chorus to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, creating a touching moment. Video from the occasion shows Scholz being greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Then Joe Biden, the US President, joined them.
When Leyen told Biden that “it’s his [Scholz's] birthday today,” Biden asked, “Did you sing a birthday song for him?” He then said, “In the Biden family, you’ve got to sing Happy Birthday on the birthday.”
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Since December 2021, Olaf Scholz has held the position of German Chancellor. He belongs to the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). Before taking over as Chancellor, Scholz served in a number of significant political roles, most notably as Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor in the coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021.
Leaders addressed a spectrum of issues from security in the Asia-Pacific to fair trade practices, particularly concerning China’s alleged support for Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The G7 nations, including Japan and the United States, underlined their unity in confronting China on multiple fronts, including economic policies that impact global markets.
Along with Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Justin Trudeau, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and European Council President Charles Michel are also participating in the summit. Leaders of 10 other outreach nations, including India, are also taking part in the summit.
Meanwhile on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took centre stage as he highlighted the recently-held Lok Sabha elections in his address at an outreach session of the G7 summit and said the “blessings” that the people of India have given in the form of a historic win in the polls is a “victory of democracy”.
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