In 2006 seven foreign ministers from Brazil, France, Indonesia, Norway, Senegal, South Africa, and Thailand initiated a dialogue on the inter-linkages between health and foreign policy, with a focus on how health matters to foreign policy and whether foreign policy can make a difference to health. What brought the ministers together was the realization that the state of global health has a profound impact on all nations and is deeply interconnected with trade and environment, economic growth, social development, national security, human rights, and dignity.