Paris: Foreign and interior ministers from the Group of Seven are gathering in France this week to try to find ambitious solutions to international security challenges.
The G-7 includes the United States, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and the UK.
Putting a dampener on event are two glaring American absences: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
The fact that ranking U.S. officials are skipping the meetings in Paris and Dinard raises questions about the G-7's relevance and effectiveness at solving the very international issues it has laid out as crucial, including fighting terrorism and human trafficking.
The U.S. absences signal that the Trump Administration has downgraded the group in its list of priorities.
France, which took over the G-7's presidency in January, is hosting a summit of interior ministers in Paris on Thursday and Friday, which overlaps with a summit of G-7 foreign ministers on Friday and Saturday in Dinard.
U.S. Homeland Security official Claire Grady will stand in for Nielsen at the interior minister meetings.
