LONDON – Britain will host a G7 summit in June, the government said yesterday, announcing what will be the first face-to-face meeting of the group since the start of Joe Biden’s United States presidency.
US President Donald Trump was forced to cancel last year’s meeting of the G7 – the world’s most advanced economies – due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Individual leaders have yet to confirm their attendance, but the summit is scheduled to take place from June 11 to 13 in Carbis Bay, a coastal town in Cornwall, southwest England.
The global response to Covid-19 and climate change is expected to rank high on the agenda at the group’s first in-person meeting in nearly two years.
“As the most prominent grouping of democratic countries, the G7 has long been the catalyst for decisive international action to tackle the greatest challenges we face,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a statement.
“The coronavirus is doubtless the most destructive force we have seen for generations,” he said, adding that it is “only right that we approach the challenge of building back better by uniting with a spirit of openness to create a better future”.
Leaders and ministers from the seven nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US – have met virtually in recent months.
Johnson’s office said he will use the summit to promote a green recovery from the pandemic, encouraging G7 members to unite to “make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous”.
Britain, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year, has invited leaders from Australia, India and South Korea to attend as guest countries.
It also takes over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council next month, and Johnson has signalled that he is seeking to boost the country’s international presence as it embarks on a new path post-Brexit.
Britain definitively ended its 40-year membership of the European Union last month. – AFP, January 17, 2021
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