The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations met at Cornwall, United Kingdom, to attend the 47th summit of the grouping from June 11 to 13. The group pledged to deal with issues like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic recovery. The leaders also underscored the importance of free and open societies and affirmed their “commitment to multilateralism [and] a rules-based world order.”
Here are some of the major talking points from the meeting:
Joint Statement:
The leaders released a joint statement acknowledging “the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 in our societies and around the world, and that those impacts have not been felt evenly”. They also affirmed that “by investing in our people, tackling inequalities, including gender inequality, promoting dignity and championing freedoms, we will release innovation capable of tackling the great challenges of our time.”
Concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement mentioned that the member countries “set a collective goal of ending the pandemic in 2022” by taking “further tangible steps to improve our collective defences against future threats and to bolster global health and health security,” including strengthening and supporting the World Health Organization (WHO).
The G7 members said that “ending the pandemic in 2022 will require vaccinating at least 60 per cent of the global population,” and in this regard announced $8.6 billion to support the COVAX programme and the ACT-Accelerator (ACT-A), which seeks to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. The group also recognised the need to “speed up” the delivery of vaccine doses and committed “to share at least 870 million doses directly over the next year.”
The statement mentioned that the member countries would “commit to an end-to-end approach to boost the supply of COVID-19 tools, including vaccines, raw materials, tests, therapeutics, and personal protective equipment (PPE), through more production in more places to sustain a global supply network for this pandemic and the next.” As per the communique, this will be achieved through “open trade and transparency, including through terminating unnecessary trade-restrictive measures and supporting open, diversified, secure and resilient supply chains.”
During the meeting, the leaders also discussed the issue of achieving “inclusive and resilient growth” by not only addressing the COVID-19 pandemic “but also the long-term shifts in the global economy and society, including demographic, technological, and environmental trends, and inequalities between and within countries.”
It stated that the grouping had provided “unprecedented support” amounting to over $12 trillion in fiscal support and liquidity measures to address the challenges. It also underscored the need to increase productivity, create jobs and cut emissions by focusing on a “green and digital transformation.”
The leaders highlighted the importance of “a tax system that is fair across the world” and endorsed the G7’s announcement last week to commit to a global minimum tax of at least 15%. They hailed the move as a “historic commitment” and said it would “create a stronger level playing field and help raise more tax revenue to support investment and crackdown on tax avoidance.”
Also Read: SUMMARY: G7 Finance Ministers’ Meeting
The group stood united in its commitment to “free and fair trade as foundational principles and objectives of the rules-based multilateral system.” To achieve this, the G7 called on the world’s leading democratic nations to ensure that the “multilateral trading system is reformed, with a modernised rulebook and a reformed World Trade Organization (WTO) at its centre.”
“We will provide the sustained effort and momentum necessary to ensure progress is made in the modernization of the WTO to promote fair competition and help secure shared prosperity for all,” the statement read.
The leaders also discussed the issue of climate change and its negative impact on the world. “The unprecedented and interdependent crises of climate change and biodiversity loss pose an existential threat to people, prosperity, security, and nature,” the statement read. It also said that “through global action and concerted leadership, 2021 should be a turning point for our planet.” Here, the G7 leaders highlighted the role of all stakeholders, including vulnerable groups and underrepresented communities, “towards achieving equality, including gender equality, in the climate and environment sector.”
In this regard, the statement noted that “gender equality is at the heart of an open, inclusive and just society.” The leaders also vowed to address the “persistent gaps” in gender equality. “We recognize the devastating and disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, which risks reversing hard-won gains especially with regards to gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, education and jobs,” it stated.
The G7 leaders also called on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially concerning Xinjiang and Hong Kong. It also urged Russia to “stop its destabilising behaviour and malign activities, including its interference in other countries’ democratic systems, and to fulfil its international human rights obligations and commitments.” The leaders also reiterated their “support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders” and called on Russia to “alleviate tensions” in the region.
They also discussed the situation in countries like Belarus, Ethiopia, Myanmar, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, and called for greater international cooperation to deal with the problems in these places.
United States
The White House released a statement saying that the United States (US) announced “more than one billion safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to accelerate global coverage.” It stated that the US was “providing nearly half of that support and is the single largest COVID-19 vaccine donor in the world.”
In his first trip abroad as US President, Joe Biden and G7 leaders launched the Build Back Better World (B3W) Partnership to meet the infrastructure needs of low- and middle-income countries. “B3W will be global in scope, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa to the Indo-Pacific,” a White House statement read.
In line with his domestic policies of achieving “carbon pollution-free energy in electricity generation by 2035,” Biden supported the G7 announcement to “end public support” for overseas coal generation and “accelerate the global transition away from coal generation” to combat climate change.
“The only way we’re going to meet the global threats that we’re — is by working together and with our partners and our allies. And I conveyed to each of my G7 counterparts that the United States is going to do our part. America is back at the table,” Biden said during a press conference after the summit.
United Kingdom
UK Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson said the meeting was a rejection of “some of the selfishness and nationalist approaches that have marred the initial global response to the pandemic” and sought to channel the member countries’ “diplomatic, economic and scientific might into defeating covid for good.” Johnson announced the UK’s decision to pledge 100 million vaccine doses to the world’s poorest countries to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the G7 meet was not about “imposing our values on the rest of the world” but was meant to “demonstrate the benefits of democracy and freedom and human rights to rest of the world.”
Canada
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau “encouraged prioritizing equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world and urged continued G7 leadership in closing the funding gaps” for the ACT-A.
Trudeau underscored the “importance of continued G7 leadership on climate and energy to reach net-zero by 2050, while also equipping our workers with the skills to take full advantage of the growing economic opportunities associated with clean technology.” In this respect, he “reiterated the importance of creating a global economic recovery that creates jobs, growth, and opportunities for everyone, and committed to tackling the global learning crisis.”
The G7 Summit was also attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian PM Mario Draghi and Japanese President Yoshihide Suga. In addition to the G7 leaders, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel were also present. India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa also attended a G7 virtual outreach programme during the summit.