G7 governments are putting a new port security network to work this week. The G7+ Ports Network to Combat Drug Trafficking, which leaders agreed to create at the Évian summit in June, holds its first meeting in Marseille while G7 foreign ministers meet in Paris on November 9 and 10, 2026. The meeting also marks the deadline leaders set for the network to be in place.
For terminal operators, shipping lines, freight forwarders and importers, the network matters because G7 leaders tied it directly to industry. They asked ministers to strengthen port security “with a particular focus on broadening cooperation with the private sector and enhancing port and shipping security standards.”
What is new since October
When we last looked at this commitment in October, the network existed only as a mandate. France’s foreign ministry has now confirmed that the network “will meet for the first time in Marseille,” at the same time as the Paris ministerial. The ministry lists maritime and port security against drug trafficking as the second of four priorities for the foreign ministers’ meeting.
The ministry says the network aims to strengthen the exchange of best practices on securing ports in G7 and partner countries. It has not published a list of member ports, a membership count or a schedule for later meetings.
What leaders asked the network to do
The Évian declaration on drug trafficking, issued June 17, 2026, describes maritime transport as “the primary vector for global drug and precursor chemical trafficking.” Brazil, the Republic of Korea and Kenya also supported the declaration.
Leaders said the network would reinforce cooperation between the main maritime ports of G7 members and their partners. It is to work alongside the European Ports Alliance, the European Coalition Against Drugs and similar initiatives. Its tasks include coordination, information sharing and best practice, including possible joint field visits to port authorities and law enforcement agencies. It builds on the International Maritime Organization’s International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
Leaders also committed to an inventory of G7 initiatives and best practices to counter drug and precursor chemical trafficking in ports. That work builds on a November 2025 statement by G7 interior ministers under Canada’s presidency, which welcomed a Canadian proposal to lead such an inventory.
What to watch
The same declaration set a second November 2026 deadline. Ministers were tasked with developing a G7 action plan against the infiltration of legitimate public and private institutions by drug trafficking networks and organized criminal groups. That plan is relevant to logistics and port companies, whose staff and systems can be targeted for access to containers and data.
Companies should look for three things as the network starts work: whether the presidency publishes the member ports, whether industry bodies are given a formal channel into the network, and whether the inventory of best practices becomes a public reference.
Sources
- G7 Évian 2026: Leaders’ declaration on the fight against drug trafficking (June 17, 2026)
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs: Priorities of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Paris
- G7 Canada 2025: Joint statement on securing maritime ports against drug and precursor chemical trafficking
