By , ,
Published December 23, 2015
President Obama will host the 38th G8-Summit at Camp David Friday, but the group will look quite different than their last meeting. Of the eight countries represented for the two day talks, four have elected new leaders since the summit hosted by France last year.
France, Italy, Japan & Russia all have new presidents or prime ministers.
The new French President, Francois Hollande sworn into office last week, is visiting with President Obama in Washington prior to the start of the summit.
Hollande is a socialist, who made campaign promises to withdraw all French troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, breaking from the NATO agreements of his predecessor, a point expected to be discussed in the coming days.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan took office in September & visited the White House in April. Italy Prime Minister Mario Monti was sworn into office in November. This is his first visit with President Obama.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending the summit, but sending Prime Minister and former president Dimitry Medvedev to do his bidding for him. Medvedev has much experience with President Obama. The two most recently held a bilateral meeting in South Korea at the Nuclear Summit earlier this year.
Several national leaders are traditionally included in the G8 summit, along with the President of the Eurpean Council, Herman Van Rompuy.
The familiar faces attending this weekend's summit who have been with Obama in the past include Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/g-8-summit-at-camp-david-includes-four-new-faces